Restored Image: A tale retold
by Talespinner69
Summary: This is the new and improved version of the tale of Lincoln returning home to Royal Woods after his brief time living in Great Lakes City, and the subsequent efforts of the Louds in trying to reconcile with the sole Loud boy. You can expect many changes from the original here, as well as expanded and extended content.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter one: Return home

If one were to have told Lincoln Loud, an eleven-year-old boy who ran away from his home in Royal Woods, Michigan, that he would have one day gone back home with Lori, one of the members of his ex-family, then the white-haired boy would have laughed that person off without giving the notion all that much thought. After all, given the way that they made him out to be quote unquote 'bad luck', Lincoln never wanted to have anything to do with any of them ever again. Granted, Lincoln _did_ have a role in what transpired prior to his running away, but it should be noted that it was his family, or rather _ex_-family, who took things way too far.

He didn't even give it all that much consideration when Vanzilla, the practically ancient family vehicle belonging to the Louds, pulled into the driveway of the Loud family residence. In fact, Lincoln didn't say a single word since he and Lori entered Royal Woods city limits, and was still silent up until the van was parked and shut off. "Well, here we are," Lori said to her little brother in as cheerful of a tone as she could manage. Gesturing to the Loud family residence, Lori said, "We're back home."

"…You don't say," was all that Lincoln replied with, his tone lacking any discernable emotion. Although he was barely able to keep from saying it out loud, Lincoln could still not help but wonder… was he _really_ home? Should he really be giving the Louds a chance to try and make things up to him for the way that they had treated him because they let their imaginations run wild with a claim that they took way too far? Although Lincoln did have a hand in spreading that claim-this was a fact that cannot be overlooked-he only did so because, at the time, it was the only way he could come up with to get some much needed alone time, something that he was starting to suspect was against his ex-family's rules.

The lack of emotion in her younger brother's response did not go by Lori unnoticed. It was the doing of the rest of the immediate Loud family, including Lori herself, that brought about everything starting with her only brother running away from home that fateful day, leading all the way up to the teary-eyed (clearly on Lori's part) reunion with the sole Loud boy all the way over in Great Lakes City. With a mildly resigned look of heartbreak on her face, Lori said, "I know what we did to you was literally stupid, Lincoln, and I know that no number of apologies, no matter how sincere, will make up for what we had done, what we had driven you to do."

"…" Lincoln was silent for a few seconds as he considered the words spoken by the oldest of his ex-sisters. Eventually, the white-haired boy turned his head to regard Lori. "…Why else do you think that I'm letting you and the others try and prove to me how sorry the lot of you all are?" Lincoln remarked, both his tone and expression dry, "Actions speak louder than words."

Actions speak louder than words _indeed_.

Lori nodded in agreement, knowing that Lincoln made an excellent point about how actions were louder than words, especially considering the actions just prior to his running away from home. Knowing that there was no beating around the bush, Lori gestured to the loud residence before saying, "Well, we ought to be heading on inside now. I told everyone over the phone that I found you in Great Lakes City, where Bobby's family was going to move to before Mrs. Santiago decided to change her mind." Somewhat nervously, Lori added, "We all missed you, Lincoln."

Lincoln didn't even give a spoken response as he and Lori got out of Vanzilla and closed it up before they proceeded to make their way to the house; the white-haired boy gave an "Mmm," that was devoid of any emotion, but that was it. The two of them made their way to the front door and entered the house. However, Lincoln didn't get two steps into his ex-family's home before he was tackle-hugged by two blonde-haired objects that he quickly identified as Lola and Lana, the twin six-year-olds.

"LINCOLN!" the twins exclaimed in unison, tears rolling down the sides of their faces as they hugged their older brother, "YOU'RE BACK!" It was a display that lacked any sort of elegance, especially considering that one of them was Lola, who was known for some degree of elegance. But then again, the two of them are six-year-old girls who knew full well they had a hand in driving away the boy that they had tackle-hugged, so seeing him home again was quite a good reason for any pretense of elegance to be dropped, kicked to the curb, and ignored outright.

"Lola, Lana, both of you get off of Lincoln right now," Lori instantly said in a stern tone. Both of the twins, still teary-eyed, complied with their eldest sister's command, releasing their combined hold on their returned brother. Seeing that tears were still running down the sides of the faces of both Lana and Lola, Lori sighed in a sympathetic tone, understanding all too well how they both feel. "Look," the oldest Loud sibling began in a sympathetic tone, "I know the both of you missed him. All of us literally missed Lincoln while he was missing. But he's had a very-" Lori was cut off when another blonde-haired object, one that was bigger than either of the twins, tackle-hugged Lincoln.

"LINKY!" Leni exclaimed tearfully as she picked her little brother up in a hug and spun around in place, "I TOTES THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T COMING BACK!"

Sighing in a mildly unamused tone, Lori said, "…Leni, put Lincoln down." As Leni complied with Lori's order, the rest of the Loud siblings, having been summoned by all of the commotion that the twins and Leni had been making, all came into the main entry area of the house, with Lily being carried by Luna.

"Holy crap, Lori!" Luna exclaimed in a surprised tone as her gaze shifted to the sole Loud boy, "What you said over the phone was right! You did find Lincoln!"

"How did you get from Royal Woods all the way over to Great Lakes City?" Lucy asked her older brother, "Because I'm pretty sure that a three-hour drive does not equal a three hour walk."

"How were you able to keep yourself alive?" Lisa asked.

"Wincon!" Lily exclaimed happily as she waved a hand at the white-haired boy, glad to see that he had finally returned home.

"Are you okay, Lincoln?" Luan asked, her expression and tone both clearly conveying that she was very concerned about her only brother.

Lynn began to say something, but she was cut off when, due to being overwhelmed with being asked so much all at once, Lincoln yelled, "QUIET!" All of the Loud girls instantly shut up and look to their returned brother in concern. Sighing in a resigned tone, the white-haired boy said, "Look. I know that all of you have a few things that you want to ask me. I understand that. But I'm…" Lincoln stopped short and let out a tired sigh, showing that he was about at his limit. "…I'm tired, okay? I'm…I'm just tired." With a hint of bitterness seeping into his tone, Lincoln continued, "So, unless it's a cardinal sin for me to have some time to myself, I'd like to go to bed now. I'll tell you all more in the morning."

"I fail to see how you having some time to yourself can be considered to be a serious error of judgment, Lincoln," Lisa remarked, more than a hint of emotion seeping into the four-year-old's otherwise dry monotone. The little genius also wore a look of mild concern on her face, as she was shocked to hear that her older brother, who had finally returned after being gone for so long, thought it was a bad thing if he wanted some alone time.

"Yeah, about that, Lisa," Lori replied, "You, me and the other girls have a few things to talk about while Lincoln is getting some sleep." The oldest Loud sibling had a few choice words for a certain younger sister of hers when they and the other sisters have their eventual sister meeting to discuss, among other things, the return of Lincoln.

"Assuming that I _can_ get some sleep," Lincoln replied in a dry, bitter tone, getting all of the Loud girls to turn to regard him. Giving them all a knowing scowl, Lincoln continued as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Because unless my memory is failing me, I seem to recall that my room was boarded up, preventing me from getting inside."

"I took all of that junk down off of your door, Lincoln," Lana pointed out, trying to sound as helpful as she could.

"I went with mom when she went to go buy your furniture back after she sold it under the impression that all of it was tainted by bad luck," Lynn added.

Hearing what his athletic ex-sister had said did nothing but make Lincoln's scowl worse. "…She sold my furniture under the impression that it was tainted by bad luck?" the white-haired boy asked, his tone indicating that his mood has dropped even more.

Sounding regretful for having unintentionally made her brother more upset, Lynn pointed out in a somewhat unsure tone, "We…we got it back."

"…Whatever," Lincoln replied as he went upstairs. As he made his way to the second floor, the white-haired boy said, "Hey Lori, I'm going to guess that you and your sisters have some stuff that you'll be needing to talk about while I'm sleeping. If you cover anything that you think needs to be kept from Ronnie Anne and the rest of her family, please stress that point to the others."

"Wait a minute, Linky," Leni said in a concerned, almost heartbroken tone, one that made the white-haired boy pause. "We aren't just Lori's sisters," Leni continued as tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes, "We're, like, totes your sisters as well."

Standing still where he was at on the stairs, Lincoln said nothing for a few brief moments before he responded. "…You have a lot to go over with your sisters, Lori," Lincoln said before he made a turn when he reached the second floor. After Lincoln was out of sight from Lori and the other Loud sisters, Lori gave a resigned-sounding sigh.

"…Girls," Lori began, "Sibling meeting, me and Leni's room. Now."

* * *

Within a few minutes, the ten Loud sisters had all assembled in the bedroom shared by Lori and Leni. Seeing that all eyes were on her, Lori sighed in a knowing tone. "As I'm sure all of you can literally guess," Lori began, "We're having this meeting because-"

"You found Lincoln and brought him back home?" Luan asked, interrupting Lori in the process. Although it's normally not a good idea to interrupt Lori when a sibling meeting is going on, the oldest Loud sister decided to let it slide for now.

"…Yes," Lori replied with a nod, "Lincoln's finally back home where he belongs." Sighing in a resigned tone, the oldest Loud sister continued, "Show of hands, who here thinks that Lincoln literally belongs here with the rest of us?" At that prompting, every sister, including Lori herself, raised their hands. "Good," Lori replied with a nod of approval as everyone began to lower their raised hands, "That's good. Now that we've gotten that settled, we can go about discussing the main subject of this meeting; proving to Lincoln that he belongs with this family."

"He…" Lola began, clearly sounding upset, "…He doesn't think that he belongs with us…?"

"You heard what Lincoln said earlier," Lana remarked somberly to her younger twin sister, "He referred to all of us as just Lori's sisters, not his and Lori's sisters." As she cast a downcast expression to the floor, Lana added, "And why shouldn't he think that? I mean, none of us gave him any reason to think otherwise before he disappeared."

"Speaking of Lincoln's disappearance from Royal Woods and sub-sequent reappearance over in Great Lakes City," Lisa began, then continued when she turned to face Lori, "Judging from what our brother had said before he headed up to his room to get some rest, you have some info that should be shared with the rest of us. Is this correct, Lori?"

Nodding somberly, Lori said, "Yeah, I do." To her sisters, Lori continued, "You all had better get comfortable, because this will take some time." Over the next few minutes, Lori told the other Loud sisters everything, starting from when she drove Vanzilla over to Great Lakes City in her bid to try and convince Bobby's folks to not move, to Lori calling the family to let them know that by some extreme miracle Lincoln had shown up in the city, then the return drive to Royal Woods.

The oldest Loud sibling sparred no detail, including how, when Bobby was questioning Lincoln, Lori was afraid that he would tell Bobby of her (Lori's) involvement in the whole 'bad luck' incident. "…We stopped off at a taco place because there was literally no way we could have gotten back within a reasonable time for dinner," Lori said as she finished the story, "But other than that, it was a straight drive from Bobby's relatives' place to back here."

"He's…" Luna began in a quiet tone, a quiet tone that failed to cover her total disbelief, "…He's actually giving us a shot at trying to make things right with him…?"

"Even though he totally hates all of us?" Luan pointed out with an upset look on her face, "Especially me, Lola, Lisa and Lynn?" The upset look on Luan's face was being matched by the looks on Lola's and Lisa's respective faces.

"Now hang on there a minute, Luan," Lynn began to point out, "Lincoln only mentioned the four of us because he didn't want Bobby to be upset with Lori, and that Bobby was expecting him to name some names, and that we were the only ones who were coming to mind for him at the time. Besides, Lori did say that Lincoln regretted having to throw all of us under the bus like the way that he did." Having heard their sporty sister point all of this out just now did restore some spirits to Luan, Lola and Lisa, if only just.

"Hold up a minute there, Lynn," Lori interrupted, "Lincoln said that he only regretted having to throw Luan, Lola and Lisa under the bus like that." Giving her athletic sister a suspicious look, Lori added, "Lincoln didn't say anything about _you_."

"What are you talking about, Lori?" Lynn asked, taken aback a bit, and with the barest hint of worry in her tone.

Without answering Lynn directly, Lori turned to face the second-youngest amongst the Loud sisters' number. "Hey Lisa," Lori began, "You have that video surveillance system of yours installed all over the house, don't you?"

"That is correct," Lisa replied, nodding once in the affirmative.

"And it goes back to the morning that all of the bad luck nonsense started, right?" Lori said as she continued with her current line of questioning.

"I have video recordings of everything that happened going all the way back to when I first installed the surveillance system, which was shortly after I turned two," Lisa replied. With a mild hint of curiosity, Lisa said as she looked up at her oldest sister, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't suppose that you can pull up the video of what happened on the date that I had just asked for, could you?" Lori asked.

"It'll take me a minute or so, but it shouldn't prove to be a problem for me," Lisa answered.

…

Lynn Sr. and Rita Loud, the parents of the eleven Loud siblings, were in the kitchen/dining room area, sitting across from each other at the table. The both of them had somber expressions on their respective faces; Lincoln, their only son out of aforementioned eleven children, had run away some time ago, and had only just been found earlier this day…in Great Lakes City (which was a three hour drive away) no less.

Luckily for the Louds, Great Lakes City was the same city that the Santiagos were considering moving to until Maria changed her mind. Lori drove to the city in some half-baked bid to try and convince her boyfriend's family against the idea of moving, and by some miracle or chance, Lincoln was found lying passed-out on the sidewalk across from where the Santiago's relatives lived. If it hadn't been for all of the coincidence, there would have been a very good chance that Lynn Sr. and Rita would have never seen their only son again.

But see him again they did; well, technically, the Loud parents haven't seen Lincoln _yet_, as he was brought back home while they were out, and he went straight to his room because of how incredibly tired he was, and he pretty much made it clear that he didn't want to be disturbed. But Lynn Sr. and Rita would be seeing him in the morning, which Lynn Sr. intended to make sure started off right with breakfast.

"Do…do you think that Lincoln's upset with us?" Lynn Sr. asked his wife, the Loud patriarch's expression mildly anxious.

"I wouldn't blame him if he was," Rita replied in a somber tone, "I mean, don't you remember how we treated him? We kicked him out of the house, Lynn. Not only was that morally wrong on so many levels, but I'm pretty sure that kicking a minor like our son out of the house is also ill-" The Loud matriarch was cut off when she and her husband heard one of their daughters cry out in pain, followed by some angry shouting. From the sounds if it, it sounded like it came from Lori and Leni's room.

"You stay here," Rita said to Lynn Sr. as she got up from the table, "I'll go see what the girls are up to." Rita walked out of the kitchen/dining area, up the stairs, and over to the room that was shared by her two oldest children. Upon opening the door, Rita said in a mildly firm tone, "Girls, if you all can't-" Rita stopped short upon noticing what exactly was going on; her daughter Lynn was covering her right cheek with her hands on one side of the room, and on the other side of the room, Lori and Luna were trying to restrain a clearly angry Lola.

"Lola, I know what Lynn did was literally stupid, but you've got to calm down!" Lori exclaimed as she and Luna struggled to restrain the enraged pageant-winning princess.

"GRILS!" Rita shouted, making all of her daughters take pause and turn to regard her. With everyone's attention on her, Rita asked, "What is going on here?"

"At Lori's request, I pulled up the video recording my surveillance system got from the morning when the nonsense of Lincoln being quote unquote 'bad luck' started," Lisa said as she began to explain things to her mom, "It was shortly before a softball game that Lynn's team ended up losing. According to Lynn, Lincoln had never been to any game that she ever played, and she wanted him to show up to the softball game in question. From what the footage my surveillance system got showed me and the others, Lincoln tried to decline Lynn's request to come to her game, only for Lynn to coerce Lincoln into coming via threatening him with a baseball bat."

Rita was both shocked and appalled from what she was just told. Did Junior really threaten her little brother into attending one of her games against his will? The Loud matriarch had no doubt that she would be having words about this with her athletic daughter. However, something of a more pressing nature had to be handled first. Pointing to Lynn who was still covering her right cheek, Rita said to Lisa, "And your sister is covering her cheek because…"

"Upon seeing the recoding of Lynn threatening Lincoln with a baseball bat, Lola instantly went berserk and clawed Lynn in the cheek," Lisa stated, "As you can tell by how Lori and Luna were struggling to keep Lola restrained until you shouting made all of us take pause." With a mildly surprised look on her face, Lisa added, "I never would have expected Lola, of all people, to have acted in such a manner."

Turning to where Lynn was standing while still covering her cheek, Rita sighed. "Junior, lower your hands," Rita instructed, "I want to see what your younger sister did." Complying with what her mother had asked, Lynn slowly lowered her hands, revealing the injury she had just received. The scratches that Lola had left, although not too serious (thankfully they didn't require stitches), were more than most people would have regularly expected out of Lola. Rita was mildly worried that one of her youngest was even capable of causing such damage, not to mention alarmed by the blood, both on Junior's hands and on her scratched cheek. That would be requiring some bandages, not to mention Junior having to wash her hands.

Letting out an impressed-sounding whistle, Luan said, "Wow, Lynn, it looks like you just got done tangoing with a wild animal or something."

"I've seen some of the damage that Ronnie Anne gave to kids at school who got on her nerves, but I never saw her do anything along the lines of that," Lana remarked. Turning to face Lola, Lana added, "Remind me never to get on your bad side, sis."

"Dude, why did you have to go and flip out like that?" Luna asked her pageant-winning sister.

"It's Lynn's fault that Lincoln ran away in the first place!" Lola hissed angrily as she pointed an accusing finger (that had some blood on it) at Lynn, "She forced him to go to one of her games even though he didn't want to, then when her team lost, she said it was his fault! That is without a doubt one of the worst things that any of us could have ever done to Lincoln!" As tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, Lola continued, "I bet that if Lynn didn't force him to go to that game of hers, Lincoln would still know that we're his family instead of believing that we don't love him anymore!" After her explosion at Lynn, Lola began to cry softly to herself.

"…Girls," Rita said, "I think that it's time for everyone to go to bed." Understanding what their mother was saying, the girls aside from Lori and Leni all proceeded to shuffle out of the room. As she and Lucy walked passed their mother, Lynn was stopped by the Loud matriarch. "Junior," Rita said in a mildly firm tone, "Go to the bathroom and get those scratches cleaned up. Also, we'll be discussing what you did in the morning."

"Yes mom," Lynn replied guiltily before she proceeded to follow Lucy out of Lori and Leni's room before making a detour to the bathroom. After the youngest girls had left, Rita turned to face her two oldest daughters. Not knowing what to say at that moment, the Loud matriarch let out a resigned sigh.

"Are you okay, mom?" Lori asked.

With a concerned look on her face, Leni asked, "Is Lola, like, in trouble for giving Lynn that rather nasty scratch on her cheek?"

"I…don't know right now," Rita replied, her tone making it clear she was starting to reach her limit for the night, "Given the circumstances, this is something that your father and I will have to discuss in the morning, after we settle on a punishment for Lynn." Giving Leni a sympathetic look, Rita continued, "In the meanwhile, why don't you and Lori get some sleep, huh?" Nodding in understanding, Leni went over to her bed while Lori went to her own. As she left the room, Rita said, "Good night, girls." Rita closed the door behind her, letting Lori and Leni get to sleep.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER ONE

Author's note:

So…yeah, I'm actually doing this. Back when I was still dealing with IRL computer problems that left me without a reliable way to continue uploading new work, Loud House and non-Loud House alike, I thought about all of the work that I already had up. Specifically, my mind kept going back to the original 'Restored Image' and how I missed so much when I was working on it. Well, I'm going to be fixing a LOT things, breathing new life into an old tale.

One of the main things that bothered me was how I didn't explore Lincoln's psyche, in regards to his Broken Mirror-related nightmares, anywhere near as much as I should have; as such, you can expect more exploration in that department. I also plan to expand upon Chandler's character more, giving some respect to his post-'Jeers for Fears' potential; granted, he'll still be playing an antagonistic role here, but I'll be endeavoring to make him much more sympathetic. I'll also be using Trent and Richie, Chandler's cronies from 'Jeers for Fears', as well as the two goon-friends that appeared before, and until they get proper names, the one in the red hoodie is Sid, and the heavyset blonde one is Frank (as a shout out to Red Rain, the anonymous guest user who commented so much on the one-shot collection; if you see this, Red Rain, thanks for the name suggestions for Chandler's goon-friends).

I also intend to fix various grammar problems, as well as replace any use of 'the city that the Santiagos almost moved to' with the use of 'Great Lakes City'; I didn't know/couldn't find the city's actual name at the time, and now that I know it, I will be using it. Another major thing that I'll be doing is not only changing what order the sisters/parents are acknowledged by Lincoln again, but what they do to earn said reconciliation with the sole Loud boy (well, mostly; if I can't think of anything else, or if it coincides too closely with its counterpart in the one-shot collection (which is in the 'official' setting that I use), then I'll keep certain things in tact).

I'll also be considering suggestions from comments on which sister/parent does what in order to reconcile with Lincoln (I may also consider what order to put a sister/parent in), and if I end up using a suggestion that I see, I will be sure to give the person who provided it a shout-out, so as to give them the credit that's due to them. However, I won't be considering anything that I see in anonymously left comments. But other than that, yeah. This is the first chapter of the revamped version of my 'Restored Image' story, and as such you can expect to see a lot of changes that, I believe, will make this version better. But only time and your comments will tell how well that goal has been achieved.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter two: A rough morning

The morning following his return to Royal Woods, Lincoln made his way down the stairs, made a turn to go through the dining room, quickly fixed up a bowl of cereal, and then brought it out with him to the dining room. Fining a chair at the table, the white-haired boy sat down before he began to eat; Lincoln had a strong feeling that his sudden return to Royal Woods Elementary School would be the talk of the school for at least the rest of the week, and that this first day back would be when that talk would be at its peak.

As such, he figured that it would be best to get something to eat before he faced the day. As he ate his cereal, Lincoln's ex-father, Lynn Sr., who had walked into the dining room, was trying to make small talk with him. "So, umm…" Lynn Sr. began somewhat nervously, unsure on how to go about talking to Lincoln, "…Today's going to be a big day, huh?"

"…I suppose that would be accurate to say, sir," Lincoln replied without even bothering to look away from his modest breakfast.

Giving a nervous chuckle, Lynn Sr. said, "Heh, I didn't figure you'd be so respectful this early in the morning, son."

Unamused, the white-haired boy turned to face the man who had failed when it came to being a proper father, giving him a dry, emotionless look. "Am I?" Lincoln remarked, a mild hint of bitterness that Lynn Sr. failed to recognize seeping into his tone, "Am I really?"

The truth of how Lincoln felt at that moment was completely lost on the oblivious Loud patriarch. "Umm, well yeah," Lynn Sr. answered, "Yeah, you're very respectful, Lincoln."

At first Lincoln thought that he should be surprised, but then the white-haired boy remembered who he was talking to. The self-absorbed oaf sitting across from him at the table was so full of it that he was clearly incapable of not only being able to tell what the mood was, but was similarly unable to comprehend when he might be at fault for something. "…That isn't what I was talking about," Lincoln said, the bitterness in his tone still undetected.

With a confused look on his face, Lynn Sr. asked, "What do you mean?" Before Lincoln could answer, Rita and the Loud sisters walked into the dining area, distracting Lynn Sr. and Lincoln. Seeing his daughter Lynn Jr., who was sporting a bandage on her right cheek, walk in, Lynn Sr. sighed in a resigned tone. Standing up from the table, Lynn Sr. turned to regard his athletic daughter before saying, "Junior, your mother and I need to talk to you."

"Yes, dad," Lynn replied, her tone sounding dejected; the sporty Loud sister knew full well that she was going to be given a good dressing-down by her father.

"Now Junior," Lynn Sr. began in a firm tone that clearly carried a hint of disappointment, "Your mother told me everything that happened last night as we were settling down for bed, so I'm not going to bore the rest of us here with the details. Let me first just say that I am very disappointed in you. What you did to your brother that day was completely uncalled for, and you should be ashamed of yourself." For her part, Lynn didn't even try to object; she knew full well that this reprimand was a long time coming.

"Now originally," Lynn Sr. continued, "Your mother was considering grounding you for about two months, as that was how long Lincoln had been missing before your sister found him over in Great Lakes City." Straightening himself a bit, Lynn Sr. went on, "However, I came up with a different idea that, after your mother and I mulled it over for a bit, we decided to go for instead." Gesturing to Lincoln, Lynn Sr. said, "Junior, we're going to let your brother decide on what your punishment will be. Within reason, of course."

Having heard their dad say that Lincoln was going to decide what Lynn's punishment would be made some of the other Loud sisters all go "OOOOOOOOOOH!" in clearly amused tones. In fact, some of the girls were even kind enough to offer Lincoln a nice variety of suggestions for Lynn's punishment.

"Make her volunteer as a test subject for some of my experiments!" Lisa said.

"Get mom and dad to take her off all of her sports teams!" Luan offered.

"Make her dress up in a superhero costume and go with you to one of your comic book conventions!" Luna suggested.

"Let me gouge her other cheek!" Lola nearly begged.

"Girls, girls, calm down," Lynn Sr. said to his daughters, "This is your brother's decision." Turning back around to face Lincoln, Lynn Sr. said, "So what do you think, Lincoln? If you don't have any ideas right now, you don't have to make a choice. Feel free to give it some time while you're at school today."

Having turned to face his various ex-sisters when they started spouting suggestions for how he could have Lynn punished, Lincoln turned back around to face his ex-father. After regarding Lynn Sr. with his dry, emotionless expression for a few seconds, the white-haired boy remarked after a gentle shake of his head, "Personally, I don't really see why I should even care."

"…Lincoln?" Lynn Sr. said in a concerned tone.

Taking his now empty bowl over to the sink in the kitchen, Lincoln deposited the dishes before turning back around and going back into the dining room. "Why should I care how you punish your daughter, sir?" Lincoln asked the Loud patriarch, "Shouldn't something like that be decided on by you and your wife?" Lynn Sr., upon hearing what his son had just said, felt as if someone had just ripped his heart out, threw it very hard onto the ground, then proceeded to grind it under the heel of their foot. It was then and there that Lynn Sr. realized why Lincoln had suddenly taken to calling him 'sir'.

It was a realization that broke his heart.

Seeing the looks on the respective faces of his ex-parents, as well as seeing Rita cry softly, Lincoln sighed in a resigned tone. "…Go ahead with the original idea of grounding her for two months," Lincoln said with an indifferent wave of his right hand, "Also, feel free to add Lisa's suggestion if you want."

"What about what we offered, bro?" Luna asked as she gestured to herself, Lola and Leni.

Turning to face his musically inclined ex-sister, Lincoln replied in his current tone, "From what I can tell, your sister needs to stay on her various sports teams so that she has some outlet for her energy that doesn't involve violence. As for the other two, I don't think scarring her her is really called for…" Casting a bitter glare at Lynn, Lincoln added, "…And I wouldn't be caught dead at a comic book convention with her. Or anywhere, for that matter." The rest of the family, Lynn especially, could feel the bitterness radiating off of the white-haired boy. Bitterness that they knew full well was their fault.

It was a bitterness that made them guilty beyond measure.

Turning to regard Lori, Lincoln said, "You're going to be driving everyone to school, right? I'm ready to go when everyone else is."

"R-right," the oldest Loud sibling said, her tone sounding mildly unsure, "Let me just get something to eat first." Lincoln nodded once in an understanding manner before the other Loud sisters went about getting something to eat before heading off to school for the day. That was one of the most awkward breakfasts that the Loud sisters ever had.

* * *

Sometime later, Lincoln was walking through the halls of Royal Woods Elementary. The white-haired boy felt pangs of nostalgia as he walked through the halls, coming to realize that, despite all but forgetting about his past life in Royal Woods while he lived as a runaway, he had been missing the little things, such as school.

As Lincoln walked through the halls, Rusty Spokes, the first of Lincoln's friends that he had seen since returning, came up to him, and the two boys proceeded to walk and talk. "Man, you have been gone for _ages_!" Rusty said as the two fifth-grade boys stopped in front of a row of lockers, "What happened to you, dude?"

"It's…not something that I'm really all that comfortable talking about, Rusty," Lincoln replied, the look on his face and the sound of his tone making his discomfort obvious. To his credit, the older Spokes boy recognized that what he was asking was a rather touchy subject for his friend, and decided to let it be. Rusty reached forward and placed his hand on Lincoln's right shoulder, a gesture of reassurance.

"I'm guessing that it's something too personal to talk about?" Rusty asked, sounding like he was saying it rather than asking it. With an understanding nod, Rusty continued, "Don't sweat it, Lincoln. If it's not something you want to talk about, then I won't-"

"Ah, so _you_'_re_ Lincoln," a mysterious voice called out, getting Rusty to stop midsentence and prompting both boys to look around. Eventually, Lincoln and Rusty both spotted a third-grade boy walking up to them. He had brown hair that roughly reached the base of his neck, he wore a reddish-brown long-sleeved shirt under a green t-shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts the same color as his long-sleeved shirt, white socks and black shoes. The third grade boy also wore a pair of glasses. Apparently, Rusty recognized the boy, because he waved at him.

"Oh, hey there, Argent," Rusty greeted, "Rocky told me that the two of you managed to score a pretty good grade on a group project in your class recently."

Turning to face Rusty, the third-grade boy, apparently named Argent, gave a small smile. "Yeah," Argent replied, "Rocky and I got the best grade in class."

"I…take it that this kid here is friends with your little brother, Rusty?" Lincoln asked his friend while gesturing to the third-grade boy that came up to them.

Turning to regard Lincoln, Rusty nodded once in the affirmative before saying, "Yeah, man. This here is Argent Ace. He's in the same third-grade class as Rocky and your little sister Lucy." Lincoln turned to get a look at the third-grade boy. For reasons that escaped him, Lincoln couldn't help but feel as if this Argent kid looked kind of familiar, yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

Oh well. It's no skin off the white-haired boy's nose.

Shifting his gaze to focus on Lincoln specifically, Argent continued, "I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you're related to that Lucy girl in my class, seeing as how Rocky's brother here just mentioned her by name. That would make sense, seeing as how Lucy's been acting kind of distant over the past few months, and the most that I've been able to gleam from the whole mess is that it had something to do with some boy named Lincoln."

"Yeah Argent," Rusty explained as he proceeded to make the introductions. Gesturing to Lincoln, the older Spokes boy said, "This is my pal Lincoln Loud. He's Lucy's older brother." After hearing the explanation from Rusty, Argent simply shook his head.

"…Yeah, I assumed as much," Argent remarked, a hint of knowingness in his tone, "I figured that one fellow in the fifth grade, Chandler McCann, was lying about someone named Larry. I never trusted a single word that Chandler guy ever said ever since I first saw him."

Giving a nod of approval to the younger boy, Rusty remarked, "You're a smarter kid than most, Argent. It still beats me how that jerk is so popular."

"Not to mention creepy," Argent continued, "My older sister told me about how Chandler has tried to flirt with her on no less than three separate occasions, and that it kind of creeps her out, especially she isn't even all that familiar him."

With a curious look on his face, Lincoln turned to face Argent. "Your sister?" Lincoln said, his tone making it clear that he was going to need some clarification here.

"Oh yeah," Rusty said as he turned to face Lincoln, "Argent here has a sister in the fifth grade, same as you and me." With a look of consideration on his face, the older Spokes boy said, "I think that her name is…Anna?"

"Anna is my sister in the first grade," Argent said as he corrected the older boy, "My sister who is in the fifth grade is Astrid."

"Heh, sorry about that," Rusty replied to the third-grade boy, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner, "But me and everyone else in my class hardly ever see her."

"Mmm, that's understandable," Argent said as he nodded once in understanding, "Astrid's got some sort of weird kidney problem. I'm not all that familiar with, but I do know that keeps her home sick a lot. But this is kind of getting off subject." Turing to specifically regard Lincoln, Argent continued, "You've been gone for how long?"

"Roughly two months or so," Lincoln replied.

Argent considered what the white-haired boy said for a bit, going over a few things in his head as he did so. "Two months, huh?" Argent remarked, "…Yeah, that'll about do it. You being gone for that length of time, then suddenly reappearing here at school out of the blue, will undoubtedly get the other kids around here talking. Your sudden return will probably be more of a discussion topic during lunch and recess than the rumors that Ronnie Anne Santiago was going to move."

"People were actually talking about that?" Lincoln asked, a mildly surprised look on his face.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Argent explained, "When word gets around school that a girl with a reputation like Ronnie Anne's might be moving out of Royal Woods, then the other students are going to talk about it, especially those who fear the quote unquote 'toughest girl at Royal Woods Elementary'."

"Yeah, I'm kind of afraid of Ronnie Anne myself," Rusty admitted. Turning to face Lincoln, the older Spokes boy added, "Speaking of which, it still beats me how you aren't afraid of Ronnie Anne yourself, dude."

"I…" Lincoln remarked, carefully considering his words before he spoke, lest he give Rusty any ideas (excuses to tease him), "…I have my reasons."

As Lincoln and Rusty talked, a look of piqued interest spread across Agent's face, a sign that he was interested in what the two older boys were talking about. "You were gone for roughly two months then suddenly return," Argent began as he got Lincoln's attention, "_And_ you aren't afraid of Ronnie Anne? Even Chandler and his lackeys give that girl a wide berth, out of fear for their own wellbeing." With a chuckle, Argent continued, "You're pretty cool, Lincoln."

"Uhh, thanks," the white-haired boy replied, surprised by Argent's words of praise, "I guess."

Nodding a few times in acknowledgement, Argent said, "You're welcome. Well anyway, I ought to get going to class now. We're expecting to start another group project in class today, so Rocky and I should discuss what we'll be doing for it." Turning around, Argent said as he walked away, "Later."

After the third-grade boy was out of sight, Rusty turned to face Lincoln. "He's got a point about getting to class, Lincoln," Rusty remarked, "Besides, I bet that everyone will be excited to see you finally back in class, especially Clyde, Zach and Liam." It's true that, due to his being gone for so long, that Lincoln hasn't seen any of his friends. The white-haired boy figured that he and the others had quite a bit to catch up on, preferably sometime during lunch or recess. Nodding in agreement, Lincoln proceeded to follow Rusty over to class.

* * *

Sometime during recess later that day, Lincoln was talking to Rusty, Clyde, Liam and Zach, all of whom seemed eager to ask the white-haired boy question after question about what happened to him while he was gone. Of course, given the true nature of why he was gone for so long, as well as what he did while he was gone, Lincoln wisely picked which questions to answer fully, along with which lines of questioning he asked not go any further. As it was with Rusty, the other three boys respected Lincoln's feelings on the matter when he said that he didn't feel comfortable answering a certain question.

"Lincoln, dude," Clyde began, "With all due respect, you're going to have _a lot_ of homework to catch up on. If you want, I can help you out with that."

"There's no need for that, Clyde," Lincoln began to explain, "Form what I've been told, Lisa's apparently been handling all of my homework for me while I was out." The white-haired boy figured that his genius ex-sister did his homework for him while he was gone in hopes that it'd help make things up to him. As far as Lincoln was concerned at the moment, if the four-year-old 'genius' was as smart as she oh-so often claimed, then there should have been no way that she would have even fallen for the whole 'bad luck' bit in the first place.

"Isn't she only four-year-old?" Liam asked, a mildly confused look on his face.

Turning to face Liam, Clyde remarked in a dry, somewhat unamused tone, "You have no idea how smart Lincoln's little sister Lisa is, do you?"

"Well I-" Liam began to say, but he was cut off midsentence when he and the other four boys heard a kid cry out in pain somewhere on the playground, followed by some shouting from a few other kids.

"Sounds like there's a fight breaking out," Zach remarked to Lincoln and the others, prompting the other four boys to nod in agreement with him. As a group, the five boys ran in the direction that they heard the noises come from. When Lincoln and the others arrived where a group of students had formed something of a ring, the five boys had to push their way in towards the center so they could see what was happening.

When they saw what was going on, they were shocked with what they were seeing; Argent Ace, who only Lincoln and Rusty recognized, was covering his left eye with his hand as he stood about several feet away facing a kid that was somewhat bigger than him. This somewhat bigger boy looked like what most people would think of if they're told to imagine a stereotypical schoolyard bully, what with his short hair, somewhat well-fed size, and a general air of meanness that was practically radiating off of him. Seeing that the supposed bully's right hand was curled up into a fist, it didn't take much for Lincoln and his friends to connect all of the dots.

"Feh," Argent said in a casual tone to the boy who stood before him, acting defiant towards this supposed bully, "How typical of you, Biff. Starting trouble like this just because I unknowingly embarrassed you in front of the rest of our class. If you had that much of a problem, then why didn't you consider trying to talk things out with me instead of resorting straight to violence?"

Pointing an accusing finger at Argent, the supposed bully, apparently named Biff, said, "Because you're supposed to know better than to make me look dumb in front of everyone, you little snot." The tone that the bigger boy spoke with clearly conveyed the idea that Biff thought himself to be Argent's superior, as well as the superior of every other kid that he is familiar with at Royal Woods Elementary.

Despite covering what was most likely a black eye, the young Ace boy cracked an amused smile. "Technically, no one ever ran such a memo by me," Argent replied, "So I had no way of knowing that. But for what it's worth, I'm sorry if me giving the correct answer to the question that our teacher asked in class earlier after you gave a wrong answer, even though you volunteered to answer the question first, put you through a bit of embarrassment." As the two boys in the center of the ring of students traded dialogue, Lincoln turned to regard his friends.

"Hey guys," Lincoln whispered to his friends, getting the other four boys to turn to face him, "What's going on here? And who's that kid that talking to Argent?"

"That's Biff Bizowski," Liam whispered back to Lincoln, mild hints of fear and worry in his tone, "He's this third grader with a really nasty reputation for causing the other kids in his grade a lot of grief. There's even a few kids in the fourth and fifth grades that are wary of Biff."

"Wait a minute," Lincoln whispered back in a shocked tone. Pointing to Biff, the white-haired boy continued, "That kid is a third grader? What the heck are they feeding him? He looks big enough to pass for a kid in our grade!" As Liam, Clyde, Rusty and Zach all nodded in agreement with what Lincoln had just said, they were surprised when they heard a vast majority of the kids in the gathered crowd gasp in shock. Turning back around to see what was going on, Lincoln and the others saw that Argent was knocked over, and Biff was on top of him, giving the young Ace boy a good few blows to the face, only to be stopped when Mrs. Johnson, the homeroom teacher for Lincoln and his class, came running over.

"Alright, break it up!" the fifth grade teacher said in a very firm tone, clapping her hands together quickly and loudly to get Biff's attention. When the large third-grade boy got up and let his victim go, Mrs. Johnson said to the large third grader in a stern tone, "You're going to be coming to the principal's office with me, young man. There is no excuse for hitting one of your fellow students like that." More annoyed than anything else that he was going to be punished, Biff reluctantly followed Mrs. Johnson into the school building. After the two of them were out of sight, the students that were still on the playground started to disperse a bit, although Lincoln and his friends went right over to Argent.

"Hey Argent, are you okay?" Rusty asked as he helped Argent up. As Rusty helped the younger boy up, Lincoln and the others saw the extent of the damage that was caused by Biff; Argent had bruising around his left eye, there were a few good bruises in various areas of his face, and his glasses were broken. There was also a small bit of blood coming out of Argent's nose.

"I'll be fine," Argent replied in a calm manner, acting as if he hadn't just been pummeled on the playground, "Buffoons like Biff simply don't know any better."

"Wow, you're taking having been beaten by a bully just now surprisingly well," Clyde remarked, clearly impressed with the maturity that Argent was showing.

"I still say Argent should have let me take a crack at him!" a random male voice called out, prompting Lincoln and his friends to look around in confusion. Argent, who had apparently recognized the voice, sighed in a resigned, knowing tone.

"How many times do I have to say it, Andy?" Argent replied to the voice that had just called out, "You would have gotten into just as much trouble as Biff if you got into a fight with him." At that prompting, another boy came walking up to Lincoln and the others. Somewhat taller than Argent, indicating that he was slightly older, this new boy had scruffy brown hair, wore a red and white jersey with the number 10 in the center, a pair of red sports shorts, white socks and black shoes. This new boy also wore a necklace that had the traditional Thor's hammer charm on it, indicating that he had some interest in Norse mythology.

Aside from the necklace that he wore, Lincoln was put off by this new boy's appearance for reasons that were escaping the white-haired boy.

"Relax, bro," the boy remarked to Argent after reaching the group, "At most, I would have been given some sort of reduced punishment since I had the excuse that I was sticking up for my little brother against a bully."

Turning to face the boy that had just shown up, Liam pointed at him and asked, "Who are you, kid?"

"Oh, I suppose introductions are necessary," Argent remarked to the other boys. Gesturing to the boy that had just shown up, Argent continued, "This is my older brother Andy. He's in the fourth grade." Turning to face Andy, Argent continued in a knowing tone, "And he'd look for any excuse to get into a fight."

With a shrug, Andy said, "Oh come on, Argent. Don't be like that, bro."

"Do you _really_ want to get afterschool detention for the rest of the week?" Argent asked his older brother, "…_Again_?"

"At most, it would have just been afterschool detention for today," Andy replied, "Because, like I was saying, a bully was beating you up, and you're my little brother, so the teachers wouldn't hold it against me too much if I got into a fight with said bully." With a knowing nod, the older Ace boy added, "Allison would have approved."

"Knowing her, that goes without saying," Argent replied. Turning to face Lincoln and the other fifth-grade boys, Argent said, "Sorry about you guys having to bare witness to this little bit of family business between my brother and I just now."

With a more or less indifferent shrug, Lincoln remarked, "You aren't the only one to have had to deal with family drama like this."

With an amused chuckle, Argent said, "I suppose you got me there." Turning to face his older brother, Argent said, "Hey Andy, if you want to do something to show that you're a good older brother, then it would be nice if you saw me over to the nurse's office. After all, I did get hit in the face a few times, and I'm pretty sure that my nose is bleeding."

Andy nodded in understanding as he proceeded to escort Argent to the nurse's office, although he could be heard muttering, "I'd have liked to have given that jerk a bloody nose myself," under his breath as he and Argent left. After the two Ace boys were out of sight, Lincoln and the others all turned to regard each other.

Pointing in the direction of the school building, Lincoln asked his friends, "Has that Biff kid always been a problem here at school? Because I don't recall anyone like him prior to my…extended absence."

Shaking his head gently, Clyde replied, "No, Lincoln. Biff acting like he owns the place is actually a somewhat recent development here. Biff's brutal behavior started at around the time that rumors of Ronnie Anne moving away started to go around here at school." With a shrug, the African American boy remarked, "I'm guessing that Biff figured that since Ronnie Anne was going to be moving away, he would then be able to take her place and make the school his personal stomping grounds."

Shaking his head gently, the white-haired boy said in a mildly amused tone, "Well, I'm not going to tell Biff that Ronnie Anne isn't going to move. I wouldn't want to burst the kid's bubble."

"Wait a minute," Zach began, a mild hint of fear in the bespectacled boy's tone, "Ronnie Anne's not going to move after all?"

Nodding once in the affirmative, Lincoln said, "I heard it from Lori while she was talking on the phone to Ronnie Anne's older brother. Lori is dating Ronnie Anne's older brother, after all."

"Oh yeah, Lori," Clyde remarked. Giving a love-struck sigh, Clyde continued, "Lori is one beautiful girl. By the way, I'm still available in case Lori's interested."

"Mmm hmm," Lincoln replied casually, knowing that Clyde crushing on Lori was to be expected. Rusty was about to say something to Clyde, but was cut off because the bell rang, indicating the end of recess. Knowing that they had to head back inside, Lincoln and his friends all proceeded to head back into the school building.

* * *

That evening after school had let out in Royal Woods for the day, the Loud sisters were all at home, going about their various bits of business. Four of them, Lucy, Lisa, Lynn and Luna, were making their way to the dining room. "When Rocky saw what happened to his friend, he was more shocked than I had ever seen him," Lucy remarked, her emotionless monotone making it difficult to get a good reading on how the gothic Loud sister was feeling.

Pounding a fist into her hand, Lynn said, "Man, I wish I was there. I would have put that Biff brat in his place in next to flat."

"Given how your grades tend to look," Lisa began, "It amazes me that you have never once been held back a grade."

"Hey, wait a minute," Lynn said to the brainy four-year-old in a suspicious tone, "What's that supposed to-"

"Hey, can you girls keep it down?" Lincoln's voice called out when Lynn and the others walked into the dining room, "I'm trying to feed Lily here." Curious, Lynn, Lisa, Lucy and Luna all looked over to see Lincoln; as he had said, he was currently in the middle of feeding the baby Loud sister. "Lily needed to be fed," the white-haired boy began to explain to his ex-sisters, "And something important came up that Mrs. Loud needed to take care of, so I volunteered to take care of it."

"You're…" Lucy began, her emotionless monotone unable to completely mask her shock, "…You're actually feeding Lily?"

Turning back to face his ex-sisters, Lincoln replied, "Well, why wouldn't I look after my little sister here?"

The four girls were surprised; their brother, who had been swearing of them and the rest of the family, had already reconciled with Lily? They were surprised that it was so easy. "So," Lynn began, her tone sounding somewhat unsure, "I'm going to guess that this means that Lily made up for her part, then?"

"Actually, Lily didn't do anything," Lincoln replied to his athletic ex-sister, "But then again, she's just a baby. She can't really be held accountable for what she did." Lincoln turned back to face Lily, and as such he didn't see Lynn, Lucy, Luna and Lisa slump a bit in a defeated manner; it figures that Lily being a baby allowed her to reconcile with Lincoln so easily. It was also a rather logical assumption to make; trying to hold a baby accountable for something did not make a whole lot of sense.

Seeing that the jar of baby food that he was feeding Lily from was now empty, Lincoln proceeded to toss the jar out. Stopping in front of Lynn and the others, the white-haired boy continued, "In fact, one could make the argument that the ones who regularly handle Lily are more at fault, as they were dragging an innocent baby along without any reason." Giving the four girls, Luna in particular, a knowing look, Lincoln continued, "Wouldn't you girls agree?" None of the four girls there could come up with a response, as all of them were feeling too ashamed of themselves to say anything.

"…Now then," Lincoln said, "If you would be so kind excuse me, I need to go make sure that I didn't forget any homework." The four girls parted, with Lynn and Lisa going to Lincoln's left while Lucy and Luna went to Lincoln's right, as he made his way past them, heading right on up to his (formerly boarded-up) bedroom.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWO

Author's note:

I kind of had to make a point of showing that Lily was the first of the Louds to reconcile with Lincoln, as it's actually going to be something that will come up later down the line (I won't say in what capacity, though). But other than that, yeah, this has been the second chapter. Anyway, the next chapter will be featuring Albert (AKA Pop-Pop) giving some advice to Lincoln on when it comes to reconciling with the rest of the family; also, a hint will be dropped on where the story will be going from here.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter three: A lunch with grandparents

After Lincoln and his elementary school-aged ex-sisters all got back from their classes at RWES for the day, the girls were in a talkative mood. Apparently, that third grade bully that Lincoln and his friends had spotted earlier the previous day, Biff Bizowski, was up to his usual antics again, and with the school staff seemingly afraid of giving the large third grader anything more severe than an afterschool detention, it was beginning to look like Biff was going to go on to continue doing whatever he pleases.

The white-haired boy thought that this Biff kid wouldn't have lasted a day as a member of the VYG back in Great Lakes City; it wouldn't have taken all that much from the boy who was once known as Broken Mirror to put a basic bottom punk like Biff in his place.

But that is beside the point. As Lincoln and his younger ex-sisters were having an afternoon snack at the dining room table, Lola began in a conversational tone, "Hey, did any of you guys hear about what happened?"

"Let me guess," Lisa replied in her usual dry monotone, "Something having to do with that Neanderthal of a third grader, Biff Bizowski."

Nodding once in the affirmative to Lisa's guess, Lola went on to say, "I heard that he actually managed to beat up some fifth grader boy named Richie."

"Does this Richie kid have tan skin, black hair, and is usually seen wearing a blue hoodie?" Lincoln asked, surprising his younger ex-sisters as a whole since he was actually talking to them. After Lola nodded a few times in the affirmative, Lincoln said, "Yeah, I actually know who you're talking about, Lola. That Richie kid is one of Chandler's goons."

With a curious look on her face, Lana said, "Wait a minute, Lincoln. Isn't that Chandler guy this conceited jerk that you warned us to stay away from?" Lincoln didn't give a verbal response, as he was focused on eating a small sandwich that he had made. However, he gave a thumbs up to Lana in a gesture to confirm what she had asked about was true.

After swallowing a mouthful of food, Lincoln continued, "Anyway, I don't think we ought to dwell on the matter of this Biff kid too much. Our school staff is being competent in punishing him whenever he acts up, so we ought to put our faith in our teachers, as well as Principal Huggins. They clearly know what-"

The white-haired boy was cut off when he and his younger ex-sisters heard the front door open. Since it happened without someone knocking first, the kids assumed it was one of the older Loud girls, or perhaps either Lynn Sr. or Rita. So, imagine their surprise when they saw Albert, A.K.A Pop-Pop., along with an older woman about Albert's age who Lincoln did not recognize, walk into view from the doorway leading into the dining room.

"Hey kids," Albert greeted in a friendly tone, "I hope you all don't mind us dropping in out of the blue like this!"

"Pop-pop! Gran-Gran!" the younger Loud girls all cheered as they all got up and ran over to their grandfather and the older woman. As both older people were swarmed by the younger Loud girls, Lincoln, with a bit of trepidation, slowly got up; unlike the younger Loud girls, Lincoln was not as quick, and in fact just stay standing there next to the chair he was sitting in, because of some emotional conflict that he was feeling.

Sure, Pop-pop had played no role in how he was treated prior to running away, but how could Lincoln know that? The older white-haired man might have been convinced into joining everyone else on the 'Lincoln is bad luck' bandwagon, for all Lincoln knew; the white-haired boy wouldn't put it past a certain ex-sister of his if she had managed to convince Pop-Pop that he (Lincoln) was bad luck as easily as she had convinced the rest of the family of the subject.

As Lincoln stood there, his lack of running up to Albert had caught the older man's attention. "Come on, Lincoln," Albert said in a gentle tone, "There's no need to be scared. I am not going to bite you or anything."

"Oh yes, deary," the older woman that was with Albert remarked, "There's no way that either of us will hurt you."

Turning to regard the older woman, Lincoln got a good look at her; this older woman was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, brown slacks and white shoes, and she wore some accessories, including some yellow circular earrings and some white bracelets. She was a fair-skinned woman with dark brown hair that she wore up in a beehive style.

"…Umm, I don't mean to be rude or anything, ma'am," Lincoln began as he addressed the older woman, "But who might you be?"

"Oh Lincoln," Lola began to explain to her brother while gesturing to the older woman, "This is Gram-Gram."

"…Did Pop-pop remarry while I was gone?" Lincoln asked, a curious look on his face.

Letting out a good-natured bellowing laugh, Albert said to his grandson, "Oh no, my boy. Myrtle here is just my girlfriend."

Turning to face the two older people again, Lincoln said, "Oh, well that explains it." Gesturing to his grandfather and Myrtle, Lincoln continued, "So, is there anything that I can do-"

"Oh, hey dad," Rita's voice called out, cutting Lincoln off midsentence as he and everyone else in the room saw Rita walk in. Speaking to her father, Rita continued, "I'm glad that you and Myrtle had the time to come by and talk to Lincoln."

"Wait a minute," Lincoln began in a mildly confused tone, "They came here because of me?"

"Well sure," Albert remarked, getting Lincoln to turn to face him and Myrtle. The younger Loud girls let the two older people go as they walked over to Lincoln, with Albert giving him an affectionate ruffle on the top of his head. "Your parents told me about how you may need someone to talk to," Albert continued, then added with a chuckle, "You wouldn't mind if it was us, would you?" The white-haired boy looked up to see his maternal grandfather and his grandfather's lady friend. The kind, gentle tone of Albert's voice, the warm, friendly expression on his and Myrtle's respective faces…all of this made Lincoln feel that he could count on the older people to not fall for the whole bad luck bit that was being spread around a while ago.

"…Well it _has_ been a while since I last saw you," Lincoln replied, "And I would like to know more about the fact that I have a grandmother now apparently." Lincoln's response drew a bark of laughter out of the retired solider, as well as happy, amused giggles from Myrtle.

"Well alright!" Albert remarked in an amused tone. To his daughter, Albert said, "Myrtle and I are going to be bringing Lincoln with me for an hour or two, Rita. Assuming that you won't have any problems with it."

Nodding in agreement, Rita replied, "That's fine. It'll bring Lincoln home roughly in time for dinner."

"We'll be seeing you in an hour or two, then," Albert said. To his grandson, Albert gestured for him to follow him as he said, "Well come on, little lookalike, we ought to get going."

Nodding once in agreement, Lincoln said, "Alright. I'm ready to go when you are." Lincoln left the house with Albert and Myrtle, with the younger sisters and Rita waving them good-bye. Lincoln hopped into the back seat of his grandfather's car, then once both older people and the white-haired boy were all buckled up, the car took off.

* * *

As Albert drove to a place that he had in mind, he decided that it was best to clear out the elephant in the room (err, car). "So, Lincoln," the older white-haired man began, "Your mother told me about you running away."

"_Wow, he doesn't even try to dance around the topic,_" Lincoln thought dryly, "_Pop-pop gets right to the point._" Speaking out loud, Lincoln replied, "Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"…Your mother also explained to me _why_ you ran away," Albert continued. Sighing in a resigned tone, the older man continued, "To speak the plain honest truth, what I heard from her made me rather disappointed. More disappointed than I thought that I would ever be in anyone." Myrtle, who sat in the passenger seat, nodded in agreement, her nodding carrying a mildly grim hint.

"What did she say?" Lincoln asked, sounding somewhat suspicious; if Lincoln's ex-mother had told Pop-Pop the _actual_ truth, then he would actually be surprised. The white-haired boy wouldn't put it past that woman if she had spun some sort of tall tale that painted him as little more than some spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, while painting herself as a flawless saint who was just trying to do her best as a parent.

"Your mother told me how she, your father, and pretty much all of your sisters were treating you like you bore a black spot because they all thought you were nothing but bad luck," Albert replied in a resigned tone, "That they made you sleep in the yard because of that reason, and that they even kicked you out of the house because of it." Shaking his head in a manner that clearly conveyed disappointment, the older white-haired man continued, "If it wasn't for the fact that she's a grown woman now, I would have grounded your mother for her part in what happened to you. As it stands right now, I'm half-tempted to do so anyway."

"I'd like to make her stand with her nose in the corner," Myrtle remarked, "That's an effective way to discipline a misbehaving child."

As the two older adults talked about what Myrtle just said, Lincoln was sitting in the back seat thinking about what his grandfather had said. "…_Huh_," Lincoln thought in a tone of genuine surprise as he heard his grandfather's explanation, "_Well what do you_ _know_?_ I guess that she _did_ tell Pop_-_Pop the truth_."

"Your mother…also mentioned something else to me," Albert went on as he and Myrtle dropped their conversation, "Something that has me concerned." The car came to a stop at a red light, so Albert turned to face his grandson. "She told me that you've apparently taken to not referring to her and your father as your parents, and that you aren't referring to the girls, outside of Lily, as your sisters," Albert said in a concerned tone.

Lincoln figured that this would have come up at some point. Might as well get it out of the way and over with. "…Because they _aren_'_t_ my family," Lincoln replied with a sigh and gentle shake of his head, "A while ago, the girls and I overheard Mr. and Mrs. Loud talk about potentially getting of one of us. As it turned out, they were simply talking about Mr. Loud's tie collection."

"Yeesh, please don't remind me of that tie collection," Albert remarked in a mildly spooked tone, shivering a bit as he spoke as if something had given him a bit of a spook, "That bunny tie still gives me the willies."

After a slight chuckle in response to what his grandfather had said, Lincoln continued, "After everything was settled, Mr. and Mrs. Loud said that they would never consider kicking one of their kids out of the house. That being said, since they kicked me out, it's clear that they don't consider me as one of their kids. If I'm not one of their kids, then they aren't my parents, and that, by extension, means that most of their daughters aren't my sisters."

Sighing, Albert said, "After what your mother and the rest of them did to you, and given how it prompted you to run away for as long as you did, I can't blame you for being so bitter." Giving the steering wheel a slightly tighter grip, Albert said in a concerned tone as he continued to drive when the light turned green, "Am I at least still your grandfather, Lincoln?"

The white-haired boy was shocked with what he heard Pop-Pop say, along with how he sounded when he said it. "You…" Lincoln began, finding himself surprised in having a bit of a pickle in finding his words, "…You never had a hand in how I was treated before I was kicked out and I ran away, did you?"

"No, and let me be the first to tell you that I will never treat you, or any of my family, in such a manner," Albert replied, hit tone sounding with firm determination. Myrtle nodded firmly in agreement with what the retired solider had just declared.

Smiling gently, Lincoln said, "Yeah, you're still my grandfather, Pop-Pop." Looking out the window, Lincoln added, "You, Lily and Gram-Gram here probably the only family that I have right now. …Well, Aunt Ruth as well. She didn't have anything to do with that bad luck stuff either, unless I'm wrong."

Albert nodded in agreement with the point Lincoln made about Ruth as he pulled into the parking lot of someplace that Lincoln wasn't paying attention to right away. As he parked his car and shut the engine off, Albert felt truly awful. How could his little lookalike have become so bitter? What happened to the sweet and fun-loving grandson that he used to know from before all of that 'bad luck' hogwash took place?

The retired solider couldn't remember the last time he shed any tears for any reason other than because he was laughing too hard, but he was actively trying really hard to keep tears from welling up in the corners of his eyes right now. As for Myrtle, she truly felt conflicted; on the one hand, she was ecstatic about not only finding out that she now had a grandson, but that said grandson had accepted her into his life pretty much right off the bat. On the _other_ hand, said grandson was currently rejecting most of his family over how badly they had treated him, and how said treatment prompted him to run away from home.

As the two seniors unbuckled their seatbelts, Lincoln finally looked out the window, thus seeing that his grandfather had taken him to some sort of restaurant that he didn't recognize. "Odin-Dono's Swedish-Japanese Cuisine?" Lincoln said aloud as he read the name of the restaurant that was written above the double doors that led inside. The white-haired boy thought that the exterior of the establishment resembled a mix of a Viking fort and a Samurai castle.

"It's one of those fusion restaurant places that are so popular here in Royal Woods," Albert explained to his grandson, "Odin-Dono's is also getting so popular that it's proving to be some serious competition for the other fusion places, such as Giovanni Chang's and especially Aloha Comrade." As Albert locked up his car, he continued, "As a side note, one of my old war buddies is the aunt of the woman that opened and is currently running this place."

"You don't say, Pop-Pop," Lincoln replied as he followed his grandfather and grandmother into the newly discovered fusion restaurant, his interest piqued as to what this place had to offer.

* * *

When Lincoln, Albert and Myrtle entered Odin-Dono's, the white-haired boy felt that the exterior of the place was a good indication of what the interior would look like. The main room of the restaurant resembled a Viking dining hall, or the large open room of an inn in that one video game were a hero learned the language of dragons. As for the choice of décor, armor and weapons representing both Vikings and Samurai could be seen hanging from or mounted to the wall. A complete suit of Samurai armor was on a stand and placed next to one of the posts that extended from the floor to the high ceiling. As Lincoln, Albert and Myrtle walked by that suit of armor, the white-haired boy let out an impressed whistle.

"Have you and Gram-Gram been here before, Pop-Pop?" Lincoln asked as he looked around at all of the décor that caught his eye.

"I've been here myself few times," Albert replied with a smile, "Me and my war buddies usually come here to watch sports on the wall-mounted TVs while enjoying the good brew they serve here. The food's pretty great as well." As the two white-haired guys and the kind older lady walked, they were hailed by an adult woman who looked to be about the same age as Rita, maybe a year or so younger. She had long blonde hair that was nearly as white as the hair Lincoln and Albert had. Although she was dressed like a tavern wench, Lincoln could tell that it was actually something of a uniform for the establishment.

"Albert, welcome back!" The woman said, "I see that you've finally brought that lady friend of yours that I've been hearing about!" The woman then noticed that Lincoln was with Albert and Myrtle. With a confused look on her face, the woman said to Albert while gesturing to Lincoln, "Is this one of your war buddies, Albert? He seems a bit young, does he not?"

"No, no, you got it all wrong, Ashe," Albert replied with a gentle headshake in the negative as he gave a soft chuckle. Patting Lincoln on the shoulder, Albert explained, "This here is my grandson Lincoln." To Lincoln, Albert said while gesturing to the woman, "Lincoln, this is Ashe Ace. Her aunt Sejuani is one of my war buddies."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ace," Lincoln greeted Ashe as he gave a simple wave of his hand.

With a slight giggle, Ashe replied, "He reminds me of my second-born daughter. In fact, I think that they might be around the same age." Facing Albert and Myrtle specifically, Ashe said, "So, I take it you'll be wanting to be shown to a table now?"

"That would be nice, thanks," Albert replied.

Nodding in understanding, Ashe said, "Alright then. I'll have one of the waiters bring you and the rest of your party some menus once you all have had a chance to settle down." Lincoln and his grandparents proceeded to follow Ashe to a table, with Myrtle even saying how she was looking forward to trying the food they served there at Odin-Dono's.

…

About several minutes later, Lincoln, Albert and Myrtle were having lunch; Albert was having some Swedish dish that Lincoln didn't recognize, Myrtle was having the same that Albert was having, and Lincoln himself was having some noodle-based dish from Japan called oden that, to a person like Lincoln with limited knowledge on the subject, reminded him of ramen, except that the noodles were different. "…Lincoln," Albert began in a serious tone after taking a swig from his drink, "Are you ever going to forgive your parents and sisters for what they did to you?"

"…" Pausing as he had some noodles in his chopsticks about halfway between his bowl and his mouth, Lincoln gave some consideration to what his grandfather had asked. The white-haired boy returned his noodles and chopsticks to his bowl before he sighed in a resigned tone. "I…I'm not sure," Lincoln replied, "I mean, I'm not sure how long it will take me to forgive them. Well, I already forgave Lily, but that's about it. After all, I…" Stopping short, Lincoln shook his head, as if trying to rid his mind of some unpleasant thought. "…It will take us a while before we reach that point," Lincoln said finally.

"Are you're at least giving them a chance, sweetie?" Myrtle asked, concern clear on the older woman's face.

"…I don't suppose Lori told you and Pop-Pop what I did when her boyfriend was asking me about what happened?" Lincoln replied.

"Yeah, your sister told me what you did for her back then," Albert replied, knowing full well what his grandson was talking about. Sighing, Albert continued, "Why did you go through all of that trouble, though, if you're still bitter towards Lori and the rest of them did for what they all did to you?"

With a resigned-sounding sigh, Lincoln began to explain, "At the time, I just didn't care enough to try and ruin Lori's relationship with Bobby. Additionally, this may sound weird, but after I passed out on the sidewalk outside of where the Casagrandes live, I was brought inside. When I started coming to, I noticed that someone was holding me, was crying over me. They sounded regretful, upset with what I had been through. I'm not sure why, but that was what convinced me to at least see if forgiving my ex-family was worth a shot."

"I see," Albert replied as he nodded, knowing full well that it was Lori who had held the white-haired boy back then; the oldest Loud sibling _did_ tell her grandfather everything, after all. Myrtle likewise found herself nodding in agreement, as if she was both impressed and a little touched by the white-haired boy's reasoning for deciding to see if forgiving his family who had wronged him was even worth a shot.

"Heh," Lincoln chuckled despite himself, "That probably sounds like one of the lamest excuses for anything ever. But still…" Lincoln paused, sighed in a resigned tone. "…Maybe I actually _want_ to forgive the rest of them for what they did," the white-haired boy continued, "I'm just not sure how exactly to go about doing that, though."

Giving a warm, understanding smile, Albert patted his grandson on the right shoulder. "It's like you said, Lincoln," the white-haired man said, both his tone and his smile warm, "It'll take you all a while before you all get to that point. It's going to be a team effort between you and your folks. No one's expecting you to give them all a free pass right off the bat. You'd have to be a saint if you did. Your family is going to have to show you just how regretful they are for what they did to you."

Lincoln simply nodded in agreement before saying, "Yeah, I understand that."

"However, it's up to you to recognize when your family is trying to show you how sorry they are for what they did," Albert continued, "Again, no one's expecting you to forgive them after they show their first demonstration of how sorry they are. However, you ought to at least try to appreciate anything that they try to do, alright? Because despite what past experiences may try to tell you, your family _does_ loves you, Lincoln."

"…Do you?" Lincoln asked.

With a mildly confused look on his face, Albert said, "Excuse me?"

"When you said that my family loves me," Lincoln began to clarify, "Were you including yourself with them?" With a mildly unsure look on his face that looked like it carried a hint of sadness, Lincoln asked, "Do you love me? For that matter, what about Gram-Gram?"

Both Albert and Myrtle found themselves struggling not to cry at that moment, sad that the young boy sitting before them was questioning if they cared about him. With a small but gentle smile on his face, Albert nodded a few times in the affirmative. "Of course, I do," Albert said, "You're my grandson, Lincoln, and nothing is ever going to change that."

"And you'd be hard pressed to keep me from caring about you," Myrtle remarked, her tone showing that she was firm in her decision.

Although the look on Lincoln's face as a whole didn't change, the small unsure frown that he had turned to a smile. "Thanks Pop-Pop, Gram-Gram," the white-haired boy replied. Lincoln and his grandparents finished the meal they were having, then after Albert paid for everything, he and Myrtle took Lincoln home.

* * *

That evening over at the Loud family residence, Lincoln was laying on his bed in his (formally boarded-up) bedroom, reading a comic book. Although Lincoln was annoyed by the fact that his ex-mother had gotten rid of his furniture while the 'bad luck' nonsense was still at a fever pitch, at least she was able to get everything back. Also, it was only the furniture that Lincoln's ex-mother had gotten rid of; all of Lincoln's other possessions, including clothes, comic books, laptop and various other odds and ends, were all put into plastic storage tubs. Lincoln strongly suspected that his ex-parents were intending to sell some of his stuff at some point.

As Lincoln read, he was going over in his mind what he and his grandfather had talked about while they were at Odin-Dono's earlier. "_However_,_ you ought to at least try to appreciate anything that they try to do_, _alright_?" Albert's words echoed in Lincoln's mind. The sole Loud boy hasn't seen any significant show from any of his ex-family for how sorry they-

Lincoln's thought process was cut off when he heard three quick knocks on his bedroom door, followed by his comedic ex-sister Luan calling out, "Hey Lincoln, are you in?" Curious, Lincoln got up off of his bed and opened his door. When he did, he saw Luan standing right there outside of his bedroom door. "I wanted to talk to you," Luan explained when Lincoln opened his door, "But I didn't want to risk making you any more upset than you probably already are by coming in unannounced." Rubbing the back of her head in a manner that conveyed some embarrassment, Luan continued, "It's…a bit of a problem from the past, now that I think about it."

"…Now that you mention it," Lincoln remarked as he began to consider the notion, "I should look into getting a lock for my bedroom door."

"Yeah, that might help," Luan admitted, a hint of defeat in her tone. Holding up a plate with a fork and slice of pie on it, Luan said, "Anyway, I'm experimenting with a new recipe for the pies I make for throwing at people in my routines, especially when I perform at birthday parties. I was hoping to get your opinion on how it tastes."

Giving his comedic ex-sister a wry look, the white-haired boy remarked, "You want me to taste-test a new pie recipe…that you made for the pies that you throw at peoples' faces."

"Well since the pies are thrown at peoples' faces, some of it will get into their mouths," Luan pointed out. With a shrug, Luan continued, "It wouldn't do if any of the pie that they ended up tasting had a bad taste."

Conceding the point, Lincoln accepted the pie slice that was handed to him. He tried a forkful, and to his surprise, it was actually pretty good. If this pie was an example of Luan's baking skills as a whole, then Lincoln would say that she'd have a successful career running a bakery if her chosen path of being a comedian didn't pan out.

Finishing the pie slice, Lincoln said as he looked up at Luan while handing her the dishes, "It's quite a shame, really."

With a confused look mixed with a bit of worry on her face, Luan said, "Huh?"

Gesturing to the now empty plate, Lincoln said, "You're going to be wasting pie that good just to throw it in peoples' faces?" With a gentle shake of his head, the white-haired boy continued, "If you ask me, I think that people would much rather buy the pies made with this recipe than have those pies thrown in their faces."

Luan let out a slight sigh of relief, as well as a bit of an appreciative chuckle, upon hearing Lincoln's explanation. To think that her little brother, who currently does not regard her as his older sister, spoke so highly of her new pie recipe; could this be the comedian's chance to reconcile with her little brother? Dare she even take the risk and ask?

"Hey, Lincoln," Luan began, "I was wondering, if you're not-"

"I'm going to be busy for the foreseeable future," Lincoln said, interrupting his comedic ex-sister in the process, "So whatever it was you were going to ask me for, I'm going to have to say no. I'm still needing a bit of time, anyway." Luan's shoulders visibly slumped, if only just, upon hearing the rejection from her little brother, a rejection that came before she could even properly ask for a chance to reconcile, crushing what hope she had at the moment. However, what Luan heard her younger brother say next put a bit of that aforementioned hope back into her heart.

"...But if I recall correctly, that Benny guy you talked about before has a thing for pie. Why not try making a pie with that recipe and give it to him? Don't throw it at his face, though."

Before Luan could even say anything, Lincoln went back into his room, closing the door behind him. The comedic Loud sister didn't dare try to get Lincoln to come back out, lest she scour what little good faith she might have managed to build up. With a bit of a feeling of defeat, Luan walked away from Lincoln's bedroom door, respecting her younger brother's wishes to be left alone for the time being.

...But he did suggest to her that she should make a pie like that for her crush.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER THREE

Author's note:

For the most part up to this point, 'RI:ATR' has been more or less the same as the original 'RI', with the only major difference being Myrtle joining Albert and Lincoln for that talk/lunch at Odin-Dono's, whereas in the original it was just Albert and Lincoln. The next chapter, however, will see the first big change from the story of the original, especially considering what one of Lincoln's ex-sisters does in her bid to reconcile with the white-haired boy.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter four: Laughing relief

Lincoln Loud's mood began well enough when he arrived at Royal Woods Elementary School the morning after he had lunch with his grandfather Albert, AKA Pop-Pop, and Albert's girlfriend Myrtle (who is referred to by the Loud kids as Gram-Gram) at one of the many fusion restaurants located in Royal Woods. Lincoln's well enough mood became better as he was met up by some of his friends, Clyde McBride and Rusty Spokes. The three boys got to talking about the kinds of things they always talked about as they waited for the other two members of their group, Zach and Liam, to show up. Lincoln was also looking to catch up on what he had missed while he had lived in Great Lakes City.

"Oh, did you guys hear?" Clyde began, getting the attention of Lincoln and Rusty.

Turning to regard his African American friend, Lincoln replied, "Hear about what, Clyde?"

"That Astrid girl is going to be back in school today," Clyde said as he proceeded to explain, "She's been out sick since sometime last week."

Shaking his head gently in a manner that showed he felt some sympathy for the girl in question, Rusty said, "Man, that poor girl just can't seem to catch a break, can she?"

"Who are we talking about again?" Lincoln asked, clearly looking confused, "You two are going to have to fill me in." Clyde and Rusty both turned to face their white-haired friend.

"We're talking about Astrid Ace," Rusty clarified, "Don't you remember? I mentioned her to you yesterday when her little brother Argent was talking to us."

"I…still don't know about this girl all that much," Lincoln remarked.

"Well that's understandable," Clyde said with an understanding nod, "Given that it's a rare occurrence to see her at school. I don't think she showed up all that often during the two or so months you were gone, bro, so you didn't miss much."

"Maybe I'll finally see what Astrid looks like in class later to-" Lincoln began, but he was cut off when a familiar male voice, one that he wasn't fond of, cut him off.

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep away from her, Lincoln," the familiar voice of Chandler McCann called out, prompting Lincoln's friends to turn and see the red-headed boy himself come walking up to him, accompanied by his two primary friends, red hoodie-wearing Sid and well-fed blonde kid Frank (the word 'friends' is being used _very_ loosely here; those boys are more akin to goons than to anything else). Lincoln, not wanting to deal with any of Chandler's crap this early in the school day, didn't bother to turn and face him yet. "I'm already aiming to get her to like me," Chandler stated as he pointed to himself.

"I'm not in the mood right now, Chandler," the white-haired boy said, his tone already sounding strained.

A look of mild annoyance appeared across Chandler's face since Lincoln wasn't even bothering to turn around and face him. "Hey, what's with you not even bothering to turn around and face me?" Chandler said in an annoyed tone. Placing his hand on Lincoln's shoulder, Chandler said as he forcefully turned the white-haired boy around, "It's rather-" Chandler stopped short from finishing, as when Lincoln was turned to face him, he gave Chandler a very angry, very serious glare. A glare that made the red-headed boy take pause. A glare that set a very high degree of fear into his heart. Sid and Frank were likewise frightened as well, even though Lincoln's glare wasn't actually aimed at either of them.

Gently removing his hand from Lincoln's shoulder, Chandler gulped a little before he somewhat nervously said, "H-hey, come on, Lincoln. I was just playing around."

"…" Lincoln considered the red-headed boy who forcefully grabbed his attention, and could tell that he had, surprisingly, managed to scare Chandler with just his (Lincoln's) glare. Only Ronnie Anne before Lincoln had been able to make others back off just by giving them a very angry look. "…Just give me some space right now, Chandler," Lincoln said in a warning tone, "I'm still not in the mood for any crud from anyone."

"O-okay," Chandler said, the mild hint of fear in his tone still not wavering. The red-headed boy turned around and immediately went the other way, Sid and Frank following close behind him in quick order. After Chandler and his companions were gone, Clyde and Rusty both turned to face their white-haired friend.

"Dude," Clyde said to Lincoln in a concerned tone, "Are you okay?"

Sighing, Lincoln remarked, "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm not in the mood to deal with anything from Chandler right now."

"I can't fault you for that," Rusty replied, "Although in Chandler's defense, he _is_ cleaning up his act, or is at the very least trying very hard to do so." With a look of consideration, the older Spokes boy added, "I'm not really sure if that excuses how his flirting with Astrid gives her the creeps, though."

With an indifferent shrug, Lincoln said, "Hopefully Chandler's apparent efforts in trying to clean up his act will help him take a hint. If not, we can always tell a teacher about his flirting creeping the hell out of that Astrid girl."

"Speaking of teachers," Clyde remarked as he looked at the watch on his right wrist, "We ought to get going over to Mrs. Johnson's class. We can't afford to be late to class, after all."

"Right," Lincoln replied with an agreeing nod as he and Rusty followed Clyde to their first class for the day.

* * *

Over at Royal Woods High School, Luan Loud, who is a freshman, was walking in one of the hallways, carrying a box that clearly looked like the kinds of boxes that pies from a bakery come in. As the comedic Loud sister walked, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. To Luan's surprise, she saw Bobby Santiago, the guy who owned the voice that called out to Luan, come walking up to her. Luan had no idea why her sister Lori's boyfriend was apparently wanting to have a word with her, but she figured that she might as well hear the Hispanic teen out.

"Oh, hey Bobby," Luan greeted, sounding as friendly as she could manage, although her greeting made it clear she was a bit on the confused side.

Giving the comedic Loud sister a bit of a glare, Bobby said, "I'm not all that happy with you."

Luan had a bit of a shocked look on her face; she did something to upset Bobby? Hoo boy, Lori was _never_ going to let Luan live this one down.

"Umm…" Luan began, "…Did I do something wrong?"

"Yeah," the Hispanic teen continued, a hint of an accusatory tone seeping into his voice. Pointing a finger at Luan, Bobby said, "You and some of your brat sisters are the reason why Lincoln ran away and was gone for roughly two months."

Luan understood why Bobby would say this; Luan and her sisters had been briefed by Lori on how Lincoln, when he was found in Great Lakes City and was questioned by Bobby and Ronnie Anne, decided to cover up Lori's involvement in the whole 'bad luck' nonsense that Luan and her sisters will forever regret. Lincoln just didn't have it in him to tell the whole truth, as doing so would most likely have cost Lori her relationship with Bobby.

The reason why I said 'the _whole_ truth' is because due to Bobby's line of questioning towards him, Lincoln was expected to name some names. As a result, Lincoln cited Lynn, along with Luan herself, Lola and Lisa, as the ones responsible for driving him to run away, while adding that those four girls tricked the other sisters into thinking that what was going on was some sort of innocent game. Lincoln also went on to say how he didn't really like how he had to throw Luan, Lisa and Lola under the bus like that.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Bobby continued, "It's bad enough that you and those other brats thought it'd be all in good fun to torment Lincoln. But you also had to go so far as to trick Lori and your other sisters in order to continue what you were doing?" Noticing the pie box that the comedic Loud sister held, Bobby pointed at it casually. "The hell is that?" Bobby asked, his tone and choice of language making it clear his mood towards Luan was still on the foul side.

Looking down at the box she held with both of her hands, Luan said, "Oh, this. Umm, I was working on a new recipe for the pies I make for part of my comedy routine, and I had Lincoln taste test a piece, and he suggested that I make a whole pie using the recipe and give said pie to this boy in my class that I have a crush on."

"…" The Hispanic teen continued to glare daggers at the comedic Loud sister for a few moments, making Luan quite nervous. After what seemed like forever, Bobby finally spoke. "…Oh yeah, Lori told me about that," Bobby remarked. Turning around, Bobby said as he left Luan alone, "Try not to screw things up, ya hear?"

After she saw Bobby turn a corner in the hallway, Luan was left alone. Her previous nervousness over trying to give the pie she made to her crush Benny was now stamped out and replaced by an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. Although Bobby was technically giving her more credit than she deserved due to the fact that he wasn't given the whole story, the Hispanic teen did have a point about how Luan had a share of the fault when it came to Lincoln being driven to run away from home.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Luan then tried her best to perk herself up. After all, she had a crush that she had to give a freshly-baked pie to. It was a good thing that Lincoln reminded Luan about how Benny did have something of a sweet tooth.

Lincoln's helpfulness in that regard made Luan feel all the more guilty about her part in what had happened.

* * *

Later that day near Royal Woods Elementary School, as classes were let out for the day, Lincoln was talking with his friends Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach as the five boys were making their way back to their respective homes. "Hey dude," Liam said to Lincoln, "I noticed during first and third period today that whenever he looked your way, Chandler seemed like he was about to wet himself out of sheer fright." Giving his friend a curious look, Liam asked, "What exactly did you do to Chandler?"

"Nothing," Lincoln replied honestly, "I just told him to give me some space."

"He also gave Chandler a glare more frightening than any that either of my parents had ever given to me when I'm in trouble," Rusty added, "I swear, if looks could kill, then Chandler would have been on his way to the Royal Woods morgue right now!" The boys aside from Lincoln all proceeded to laugh at the joke Rusty made; Lincoln himself found the joke to be more or less unfunny (but not so much that it was bad/in bad taste).

…After all, it wouldn't have been the _first_ time that the white-haired boy took a life.

As the boys continued to walk and talk, they were met up by a trio of well-off looking boys. They all reminded Lincoln of Chandler prior to the red-headed boy's apparent act cleaning up. The boy in the middle was especially like that; in fact, Lincoln thought that the middle boy kind of resembled Chandler, albeit with dark yellow-blonde hair, a lack of freckles, black-framed glasses with slightly oval-shaped lenses, and a slightly underfed build.

"I overheard the five of you talking about Astrid Ace earlier," the blonde boy began as he addressed Lincoln and his friends, "It's bad enough that I have to compete with McCann, so I really would rather not have to deal with five additional boys." Giving Lincoln and his friends a knowing look, the blonde boy said, "Do we have an understanding here?"

Scoffing in an annoyed tone, Rusty said, "Look Ross, none of the guys and I are interested in Astrid like that. We were just talking about how she hadn't been seen at school in a while."

"Sort of like your white haired friend here?" said one of the boys accompanying Ross; said companion was pointing to Lincoln.

Hearing his companion mention this, Ross turned his attention so that he focuses specifically on Lincoln. "…Oh yeah, you're that Lincoln Loud fellow, aren't you?" Ross asked, "I did hear about how you were gone for about two months. You've been the talk of the school ever since you came back."

Giving the conceited blonde boy a dry look, Lincoln replied, "Your point being?"

Jerking a thumb at himself, Ross continued, "Everyone is supposed to know that I'M the talk of the school. I have no idea what you or that Chandler dork are thinking, but try to stay out of the spotlight." Rubbing the middle knuckles of his right fingers against his chest, Ross continued, "I've never been known as someone who likes to share."

A hint of wryness entering his already dry look, the white-haired boy said, "And I've never been known as someone who likes being held up by pompous, conceited buffoons. And yet you've yet to see me complain."

Ross, along with his two companions, instantly looked ticked off. "I don't think you've been told how to properly address someone like myself," Ross remarked, the coolness of his tone partly masking how utterly angry he was. Holding a hand up as he was about to gesture for his two companions to make a move, Ross said, "I think that the boys here and I ought to take some time here to educate you better on-"

"I don't think you understood what I was getting at," Lincoln interrupted, both the tone of his voice and the look on his face being exactly like that of what he gave Chandler, Sid and Frank earlier. Ross and his companions were not only caught off guard by this sudden shift in the white-haired boy's tone, but it had them cowed in fright. Ross and his companions could not explain it, but Lincoln, this strange white-haired kid who was a nobody as far as Ross cared or was concerned, was exuding _Killing Intent_.

Continuing to murderously glare at the blonde boy and said blonde boy's companions, Lincoln said, "I am in no mood to deal with stuck up little twats such as yourself. So why don't you and your two stooges here do yourselves a favor and leave my friends and me alone?"

As he and his friends took a few steps back, Ross said, "H-Hey, man, chillax a bit, will ya? I was only asking that you and your friends to let me try to get Astrid to like me." Fully believing that they would all get seriously messed up if they stuck around any longer, Ross and his two friends took their leave. After the three boys were gone, Lincoln's friends all turned to regard the white-haired boy.

"Holy geez, Lincoln," Zach said as he and Lincoln's other friends all gave the white-haired boy surprised looks, "It's like you're some skilled assassin who can kill people just by giving off the vibe that you intend to kill them."

"Yeah, Zach," Rusty remarked while jerking a thumb at Lincoln, "That's what I was trying to tell you and Liam about earlier."

Zach and Liam proceeded to marvel at how utterly awesome Lincoln was in making Ross and his two buffoons back away and take off with their tails between their legs as the boys all proceeded to continue what they were doing prior to being held up by the aforementioned conceited little twat. Lincoln, for his part, actually couldn't care less about how his friends were praising him for what he did.

He just wanted to get going.

* * *

When the white-haired boy returned to the Loud residence, he was greeted by his comedic ex-sister Luan, who seemed a bit on the happy and enthusiastic side of things. "You're idea worked, Lincoln!" Luan practically exclaimed at Lincoln, who recoiled a bit because of how loud Luan was being.

"…Pardon?" Lincoln replied, not sure about what the comedic Loud sister was going on about.

"You suggested that I use the new pie recipe that I came up with to make a pie and give it to Benny," Luan clarified, "It actually worked! Benny really likes me now!"

Realizing what Luan was trying to get at, Lincoln found himself unable to help but crack a bit of a smile. Straightening himself up a bit, the white-haired boy replied, "Well I'm glad to see that things worked out for you."

"I don't suppose you'd care to talk about how your day was?" Luan asked.

"Ehh," Lincoln began in a more or less indifferent tone, "Some conceited jerk named Ross, plus two of his goons, tried to hold up me and my friends when we were about halfway away from the school after classes let out for the day."

With a confused look on her face, Luan replied, "Ross? Wait a minute, I thought that the little jerk who likes to mess with you is named Chandler."

Gently shaking his head, Lincoln said, "Actually, Chandler is cleaning his act up from the look of things. But yeah, there's a new self-assured jerk going around, and his name is Ross."

Luan, with a hint of serious determination on her face, asked, "You want I should prank this Ross kid in retaliation for him giving you trouble?"

When Luan made that offer, it caught Lincoln's attention. Looking up at his comedic ex-sister, the white-haired boy remarked in a somewhat dry tone, "I don't think that will be necessary, Luan. Besides, Ross and his goons backed off when I glared at them."

The comedic Loud sister was surprised by how her younger brother was acting; even though some jerk kid harassed him, Lincoln declined Luan's offer to get back as said kid for him. Luan was also hoping that, if she did do something like that for Lincoln's sake, then she'd be that much closer to reconciling with him. Speaking somewhat unsurely, Luan said, "Are you sure that you don't want me to get back at him for you, Lincoln?"

"I'm positive," Lincoln replied, "Although Ross, from what I've been hearing, is bothering some girl named Astrid. If I hear that he's keeping it up, I'll report him." Without another word, the white-haired boy took his leave.

Luan was unsure of what to make of the developments she learned about. It's already bad enough that she and the other Loud sisters collectively drove their only brother to the point that he ran away from home. But now not only is he being harassed by bullies not a few days after coming back home, but he's not letting her (probably won't let any of the other sisters as well) help him out on this one?

Luan feared that, because of what she and her sisters did, Lincoln has lost any and all faith that he ever had in any of them. Luan then realized that, as heartbreaking as it was, if it was the case that she and her sister's lost Lincoln's confidence, then it was no one's fault but their own. After all, given how they collectively treated him, who could blame Lincoln for not trusting any of the girls to help him if he has a problem?

Luan thought that, with all of that in mind that she just _had_ to do something. She owed it to Lincoln for her part in what happened to him. The comedic Loud sister also had to point out to any and all would-be bullies that are out there that picking Lincoln Loud as a target for their aggression was a mistake that no one can walk away from.

…Not without suffering an April fool's-level prank or two, that is.

* * *

Over at the Santiago residence, Bobby was sitting at the dining table in the dining room. Sitting in front of him was a high-quality faux leather deck box that had a flap that closed to the one side of the box using hidden magnets. The deck box was currently open, and a few of the cards Bobby kept in said deck box were spread out on the table. "…Hmm," Bobby muttered to himself as he considered his cards, "I'm probably going to have to borrow Aggro's BLS-SOC from him again before the weekly tournament this Sat-"

"What are you doing, Bobby?" the familiar voice of Ronnie Anne said, making Bobby look up from his various cards.

Seeing his little sister standing there, the Hispanic teen replied, "Oh, I'm just making some tweaks to my deck before the tournament at the local card shop this Saturday." Noticing that Ronnie Anne was carrying her skateboard, Bobby asked, "You planning to go to the park to do some more skateboarding?"

"Oh, this?" Ronnie Anne replied as she looked down at the skateboard she was carrying. Looking back up, the Hispanic tomboy replied, "Actually, I was planning on heading over to my friend Astrid's place. Our friend Susan has her birthday coming up, so Astrid and I need to go over a few things concerning what we're going to do for Susan's birthday."

Bobby was about to say something in response, but he was cut off when he and Ronnie Anne heard a knock at the front door. Bobby was the one who went over to answer the door. To his surprise, the Hispanic teen saw Luan standing there. Bobby was still upset/disappointed in Luan and the 'other brats' that drove Lincoln to run away, but Bobby knew that he had to be tactful here; after all, Luan is one of Lori's sisters, and he was sure that if he was unnecessarily harsh to one of Lori's sisters, regardless of reason, then she'd be a bit cross with him.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Luan?" Bobby asked, his tone making it clear that he was hoping Luan would keep her business brief.

"Actually, I was hoping to speak with Ronnie Anne," Luan began to explain, "I recently found out that there's this one kid over at the elementary school who's taken to giving Lincoln and his friends some trouble, and I was hoping that Ronnie Anne would be able to help me identify what the kid looks like."

The Hispanic teen was surprised by the comedic Loud sister's request. With a bit of a confused, unsure look on his face, Bobby turned around and called for Ronnie Anne. A few brief moments later, Ronnie Anne was at the front door. Given that she knows the exact same as what Bobby knows, Ronnie Anne's opinion of Luan was about the same as Bobby's. However, Ronnie Anne tends to express her displeasure in a different manner than what her older brother does.

Giving Luan an annoyed glare as she looked up at her, Ronnie Anne asked, "The hell do you want, Clown? If you're looking to get a black eye, then you'll need to kneel down a bit so I can reach your face."

Luan could not blame the Hispanic tomboy for being so hostile towards her; after all, Ronnie Anne was very much upset with what Lincoln was put through. Luan also found it rather cute that Ronnie Anne, in her own way, was being protective of her (Luan's) younger brother. And it was for that reason that Luan was hoping that the Queen of Pain would be willing to hear her out on what she was going to ask.

"Are you familiar with a boy at your school named Ross?" Luan asked.

Having not expected Luan to inquire (much less even know) about the latest pompous oaf over at RWES, Ronnie Anne gave her a confused look. "Ross?" Ronnie Anne repeated, "You mean that one conceited jerk who is trying to get my friend Astrid to like him? Yeah, I know who Ross is." With a hint of wryness entering her expression, the Hispanic tomboy continued as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Why do you ask?"

"I just found out that this Ross kid was trying to give Lincoln and some of Lincoln's friends some trouble earlier today as they were coming back from school, and I want to get back at him for it," Luan explained, "I was hoping you might be able to help me identify this Ross kid." Ronnie Anne, although initially surprised by the comedic Loud sister's request, calmed down a bit before wearing a relaxed, somewhat amused expression.

"…Let me get my copy of my school's current yearbook," Ronnie Anne replied.

* * *

Sometime the following day after classes were out for the day, Lincoln was walking back to his ex-family's house when he noticed (i.e. overheard) Ross talk with one of his goons. "Can you believe it?" Ross said to his companion that was with him, "Astrid Ace actually asked me to meet her over at the park when classes got out today!"

"Ha!" Ross's goon laughed in congratulatory amusement, "Alright, man! This ought to be a real bee in Chandler's underwear!"

"I'll be heading over to the park now," Ross said as he proceeded to turn around, "I can't keep my future girlfriend waiting, now can I?"

Stopping his friend before he went off, Ross's goon asked, "You want I should go with you and be your wingman?"

Gently shaking his head in the negative, Ross replied, "Actually, Astrid's note asked that I come alone." With a curious expression on his face, Ross added, "Also, for some odd reason, the note was written on stationary for some company called 'Funny Business'." Giving his companion a wondering look, Ross asked, "Do you know what that's about?" Ross's goon shook his head in the negative, showing he had no clue about Ross's inquiry.

With an indifferent shrug, Ross said, "Oh well. Maybe I'll ask Astrid about it when I meet her at the park." Without another word, the blonde-haired conceited boy took off.

After he watched Ross's goon take off not long after, Lincoln stood there alone, wondering about what he had just heard. That Astrid girl that Lincoln keeps hearing about actually wrote a love note to that Ross jerk, saying that she liked him and asked him to meet her over at the park after school? From what little the white-haired boy was able to gather on the matter, Astrid was too shy to do something like this, so that was the first sign that something was up. Secondly, Lincoln also knew that Astrid was not fond of Ross (or Chandler, for that matter) in the least, so that was another clue right there that someone was trying to deceive New Chandler.

But Lincoln having overheard that the supposed love note was written on Funny Business stationary was the big clue that gave it away that Ross was actually being pranked. And as the white-haired boy knew, pranks and 'Funny Business' usually go hand in hand with each other, especially considering _who_ was running 'Funny Business'.

"…I thought I told her to drop the subject," Lincoln muttered to himself in an annoyed tone as he proceeded to discreetly follow Ross over to the local park.

* * *

It didn't take the white-haired boy long to head over to the local park, and without having been spotted, Lincoln not only saw Ross waiting around near the main fountain in the park, but he also spotted his comedic ex-sister Luan hiding behind a nearby tree, the end of a rope in her right hand. Looking around a bit, Lincoln saw the trap-prank that would have been sprung when Luan pulled on the rope she held.

"_You have got to be kidding me_," Lincoln thought as he saw Luan waiting to spring her prank-trap on the unsuspecting Ross; the white-haired boy could see that the suspense was practically killing his comedic ex-sister. Moving quickly while taking care not to be spotted by either Ross or Luan, Lincoln made his way over to where the latter was hiding in wait, intending to give her a piece of his mind.

…

Luan couldn't believe it; working (secretly) with Ronnie Anne, Luan managed to trick that Ross kid who was bothering Lincoln into coming alone to the park, where she would spring a prank on him. The prank that the comedic Loud sister had in store for the conceited little jerk was so great that it was on a level comparable to that of some of her more high-leveled April fool's pranks from past years.

"_Wow_, _he must be as dumb as he is a jerk if he actually fell for that note_," Luan thought as she waited for just the right moment to spring her prank on Ross; there were a few other people in the park who would bear witness to Ross's impending embarrassment, but Luan wanted there to be a few more people. If some of the witnesses recorded what happened on a phone or some other device like that, then that would be even better. From what Luan was seeing, two more people entered the park and were within witnessing distance of what was about to happen.

"_Alright_, _this is going to be awesome_," the comedic Loud sister thought in anticipation of what she was going to do, "_This will show him for messing with my younger brother_! _This is going to be totally hilarious_! _This_'_ll be great_! _This_'_ll be_…_be_…" Slowly but surely, Luan was thinking back to when Lincoln declined her offer to get back at Ross for him, saying that he was able to get the conceited blonde boy to back off on his own.

When the realization of what she was doing hit her in full, Luan's grip on the rope she held went slack, allowing the rope to unceremoniously fall out of her hand. "…_Going against everything that I believe in when it comes to pulling pranks_," Luan thought sadly. She couldn't believe that not only was she pull a prank out of revenge, but was also hoping a witness would record a video of what would have happened and posted it on the internet, something else that goes against what Luan believes in. Additionally, Luan realized that if Lincoln was able to effectively make Ross back off on his own, then the little brat wasn't really worth Luan's time and effort.

Looking down to her left, Luan spotted a stick that was propped up to support something; Luan had designed her intended prank so that if she needed to back out of actually carrying out the prank, she could just knock this stick out and the prank would collapse in on itself in a way that wouldn't harm anyone. The comedic Loud sister kicked the stick away, and aside from the noise of a few things falling against each other, no one in the park noticed anything; most people attributed the noise to a few dogs fighting each other.

With an ashamed look on her face, Luan turned around and slowly walked away, heading straight for home. However, what the comedic Loud sister failed to notice was that her younger brother had not only seen her, but also saw what she looked like she was about to do, as well as witness her doing what she actually did. Lincoln was surprised that Luan actually gave up on pulling a prank. He also saw the look on Luan's face.

The white-haired boy wondered if Luan just had an epiphany.

* * *

Later that evening, while Luan was organizing a few things for Funny Business in the Loud family garage, she heard the side door on the garage open. When she looked up to see who it was, Luan was surprised to see that it was Lincoln entering the garage. "Your mom told me about how you were in the garage doing something," the white-haired boy remarked. His words once again reminded Luan about how badly she and the rest of her family had botched things up when it came to caring about the sole Loud boy.

"Hey, Lincoln," Luan replied, her tone sounding defeated and a little lame, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I found out about how you were going to prank Ross earlier," Lincoln began in a neutral tone, deciding that it was best if he cut to the chase, "I also saw you hiding behind the tree as you were waiting to pull that prank." Luan was not only surprised that she was spotted by her younger brother, but a little bit of the shame she was feeling earlier resurfaced. However, Lincoln then said, "I also saw you dismantle the prank before you even pulled it, before leaving the park entirely." Giving a bit of a wry look, Lincoln said, "It's not like you to give up on a prank. Care to explain?"

Luan figured that there was nothing to hide at this point, so with a resigned sigh she stood up from the box she was looking through. "I was still upset about how some jerk kid was bothering you, so I wanted to try to get back at him anyway," the comedic Loud sister began, "So after I talked to Ronnie Anne and told her what I had in mind, she showed me what Ross looked like in her copy of your school's yearbook before she wrote a fake love note from that Astrid girl she's friends with."

"Wait a minute," Lincoln interrupted, "Ronnie Anne wrote the fake love note that was used to fool Ross?"

With a bit of an embarrassed look on her face, Luan said, "Yeah. I even let her use a sheet from a pad of Funny Business stationary paper to write the note."

Arching an eyebrow as he looked at Luan, the white-haired boy remarked, "You do realize that you were giving yourself away by using some of your specialized stationary paper, right? Also, I'm going to have to have a talk with Ronnie Anne later."

"In her defense, she doesn't really like that Ross kid a lot either," Luan pointed out, "She agreed to help me with the prank mostly because she wanted to get back at that Ross kid for bothering that Astrid girl that she's friends with." With a defeated sigh, Luan continued, "But it doesn't matter. I gave up on even pulling the prank, so nothing is going to come of it."

"Yeah, I'm still curious about that," Lincoln said, "Why did you really give up on pulling that prank?"

"Because I realized that Ross wasn't really worth it," the comedic Loud sister began to explain, "That I was disrespecting your wishes on the matter, that why what I was intending to do would go against everything that I believe in when it comes to pulling-" Luan stopped short suddenly, a look of dawning realization on her face. "…Pranks," Luan said with clear guilt in her tone, "Just like what I've been doing every April fool's for the past few-" Luan once again stopped short, but for a reason that took her by surprise.

Lincoln had suddenly hugged her.

The comedic Loud sister was shocked beyond words that her little brother was actually show such a sign of caring about her. "…Do you know how long not just me, but the rest of your family, have been hoping you'd realize how you've been going too far every April first?" the white-haired boy said as he let go of Luan, "Not to mention the fact that you realized without me telling you that Ross isn't worth it, and that you ultimately respected my wishes on not going after him in revenge."

"…Lincoln…" Luan said, but she was cut off when Lincoln held a hand up in a gesture meant for her to let him finish speaking.

"But overall, you stopped yourself before you actually did anything because you realized that what you were intending to do, what you were about to do, went against who you are as someone who likes comedy," Lincoln said, "You prevented yourself from losing yourself. Not bad, Luan. Not bad at all."

Smiling a bit in appreciation, Luan simply replied, "Thanks, Lincoln." Seeing that Luan was still busy doing what she was up to in the garage, Lincoln offered to help her out, surprising Luan once again. However, Luan, after coming back to her senses, accepted Lincoln's offer.

Like hell she was going to miss out on trying to patch things up with her little brother.

* * *

The following day, Lori was sitting at the dining table, accompanied by Leni, Luna and Lynn. As the Loud girls drank coffee (Lori and Luna), a cola (Lynn) and a smoothie (Leni), their mom Rita walked into the dining room. When Lori asked her if she knew where Luan went off to, Rita replied, "Oh, she's performing at a kid's birthday party today."

"Wait a minute," Luna began, "I don't recall her asking any of us to assist her with the party. She always tries to rope one of us into the job."

With a bit of an amused look on her face, Rita explained, "Oh, she left with Lincoln."

Upon hearing what their mom said, the older Loud girls were all surprised. "Wait a minute," Lynn said, "I thought that Lincoln was swearing all of us off forever! Why would he willingly help Luan out with her thing?"

"Lincoln explained to me that he not only reconciled with Luan," Rita clarified, "But that he also managed to get her to permanently cut it out with the April fool's level pranks."

Once again, the older Loud girls were shocked, given that they were just told how Lincoln reconciled with Luan. They were also a little jealous as well, as it wasn't any of them that managed to patch things up with the sole Loud boy, and also they felt relieved that there wouldn't be any more April fool's level pranks. But more than anything else, the older Loud girls felt a bit more hopeful about their situation than they had previously.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER FOUR

Author's note:

I figured that with seeing such growth as a person out of Luan, along with the promise of no more April fool's level pranks ever and with seeing her keep herself from losing who she really was, would prompt Lincoln to reconcile with Luan; this puts things at two out of ten sisters reconciled with. Anyway, the next chapter will see Lincoln go to a familiar birthday party at a familiar fusion restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter five: Troubling Dreams

Once again, he was back in one of the many alleyways of Great Lakes City. Lincoln, once more in the guise of Broken Mirror, was chasing down one of the many members of the violent youth gang, aiming to give the gang member in question a long overdue dose of karma. The gang member tripped and fell, landing face-up as their trip made them spin around slightly. As the gang member laid prone, Lincoln jumped onto them. Taking out his signature butterfly knife, Lincoln raised the deadly blade in a reverse grip, then brought it down into the gang member's neck, swiftly and without hesitation.

After yanking the blade out of the gang member's neck, Lincoln thrusted it into their torso a few times, not stopping until his victim laid forever still. Lincoln panted hard in exhaustion as he got up from his latest kill. As he regarded the gang member he just killed, the white-haired boy became confused. From what he was able to gather on the subject, Lincoln thought that all of the gang members were in his general age group, and yet this person he just killed was clearly tall enough to pass for someone in their late teens. Did the violent youth gang somehow managed to recruit a high schooler, perhaps an adult?

And on that subject, the gang member was wearing a bandanna over their face, covering the lower half of their face entirely. Curious, Lincoln, who wore a face-concealing bandana himself, bent over to remove the bandana from the gang member that he had just slain. After he had removed the bandana, Lincoln saw who he had just killed; he had to cover his mouth, so as to not let out an ear-splitting, horrified scream. Lincoln backed away, step after shaky step, as the blood-stained butterfly knife slipped out of his hand. The white-haired boy could not believe what he had just done, who he had just killed.

Lori. One of his ex-sisters.

Quickly breathing, Lincoln could not find it in himself to calm down. Even _with_ what Lori and the rest of the Louds had done to drive him away, Lincoln would _never_ wish any of them dead. And yet here Lori laid on the ground in an alleyway, never to get up again. All of Lori's hopes, all of her dreams, all of her future, a future that Lori would have undoubtedly shared with someone who Lincoln would have loved to have as a brother-in-law. All of that was now flowing freely out of the oldest Loud sibling as the rich, warm crimson that was staining her lifeless form, stained the ground in the alleyway on which she laid, stained the hands of her younger brother Lincoln.

The one who had taken her life.

…

Lincoln jolted awake in a cold sweat, having jolted into a sitting position after the horrific nightmare he just had. He was panting, shaking, struggling to calm down. Lincoln, as his vision adjusted to the darkness of his bedroom, looked as his hands. Hands that, in his nightmare, had killed someone who Lincoln would never want dead, regardless of what she had done to him. Lincoln's head fell forward, his forehead resting in palms that were slick with a very cold sweat. The white-haired boy breathed shakily as he tried to steady himself.

As he tried to steady himself, he heard a knocking on his bedroom door. After giving a verbal response to invite the person knocking on his door to come in, Lincoln was surprised to see that it was Lori, the very ex-sister who he had killed just moments ago. "Most of us literally heard you talking in your sleep like you were having a nightmare," Lori said, "Are you okay?"

Lincoln was a little surprised to hear what Lori said; was he really making enough of a racket with his tossing and turning in his sleep that most of the girls heard it? Holding up a hand in a gesture to reassure Lori that nothing was wrong, Lincoln said, "It's nothing. Just a bad dream about some Scottish girl's pet bunny setting things on fire."

Lori was a bit confused to hear that the bad dream her brother had was, when you got down to it, rather silly in nature. But as silly as the dream's premise was, it was still bad enough in how it went that it was a bad dream for Lincoln. With a bit of an unsure look on her face, Lori said, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Positive," Lincoln replied before laying back down in bed. Lori took that as her cue to leave Lincoln's room, closing the door behind her. As he laid on his bed, Lincoln looked up at the ceiling in his bedroom; it was bad enough that he woke up from a dream about killing one of his ex-sisters, but the first person he sees after waking up from said dream being the very girl in question? This was all too surreal for the white-haired boy. As he started drifting off to sleep, Lincoln hoped that things would make more sense in the morning.

…

A few minutes after they were all woken up by the sounds of Lincoln tossing and turning in his sleep, the Loud sisters minus Lori watched as Lori herself came walking out of Lincoln's bedroom, closing the door behind her. "Lincoln just had a bad dream," Lori said to the other Loud girls in a concerned tone, "He's going to be fine."

"A bad dream?" Lana repeated in a concerned tone, "Was did Lincoln say it was like? Was it one where mud no longer existed? Or one where frogs were declared illegal? Or one where both mud no longer existed _and_ frogs were declared illegal?!" As Lana looked up with a horrified look on her face, Lola turned to face Lana, regarding her tomboyish older twin sister with a '…really?' kind of expression.

Gently shaking her head, Lori replied, "No, girls." Sighing in a resigned tone, the oldest Loud sister explained, "It was just some really bad but ultimately really silly dream about a Scottish girl's pet bunny setting things on fire."

"That does sound like a really silly dream," Luan remarked in a tone of agreement, "But I can see how it has the potential to be really bad at the same time."

Lori nodded a few times in the affirmative, not bothering to tell the others about her suspicions that Lincoln was actually lying; she was afraid that some of them would try heading into Lincoln's room to pester him about it and ask what kind of dream he really had. If that were to happen, then Lincoln would undoubtedly be very cross, and that was the last thing the girls were needing right now. "I say that we should leave him alone for the rest of the night," Lori said, "Besides, we all need to get some rest as well."

"Ooh, I hope that Linky gets better soon," Leni remarked in a worried tone, "It's really bad to see him suffering from nightmares like this." Seeing as how there was nothing left for any of them to do in this situation, the Loud girls all went back to their respective bedrooms so that they could go back to bed. Lori also had really a point about how they still needed to get some rest; this goes especially so for Lynn, who had a baseball game that was coming up in a few days.

* * *

The following morning over at Royal Woods Elementary School, Lincoln and his friends Rusty and Zach were sitting together in the library, studying at one of the tables for a test that they had in a class later that day. As they went over their schoolwork, they heard a familiar female voice call out, "Hey, Lame-o!" Lincoln and his friends looked up from their work and turned to face Ronnie Anne, the owner of that voice. The Queen of Pain was walking up to Lincoln and his friends with a girl who Lincoln didn't recognize.

The girl who was with Ronnie Anne was roughly the same height as Lincoln, his friends and Ronnie Anne herself, so he assumed that the girl was a fifth grader same as them. She had long white hair, wore a white long-sleeved blouse that had an orange-colored sailor-style collar, an orange ribbon laced through a loop around her neck, a dark blue skirt that reached her knees, a pair of loose socks, and a pair of black slip on shoes. Additionally, the white-haired boy could tell just by looking at this new girl that she has some sort of Asian heritage.

Jerking a thumb at the girl who was with her, Ronnie Anne said to Lincoln, "Hey Lame-o, she wants to talk to you about something."

"Umm, Ronnie Anne," the mystery girl began, "Don't you think that referring to him with that name is kind of mean?"

"Relax, Astrid," Ronnie Anne replied, "It's something between the two of us. No need to worry."

"Wait a minute," Lincoln said, a bit surprised to hear what Ronnie Anne had said. Pointing to the new girl, Lincoln continued, "Her name is Astrid? As in that Astrid Ace girl that I keep hearing people talking about?"

With a simple nod, the mystery girl replied, "Yeah. That would be me, alright."

"You know, Astrid," Zach began, "You look kind of different from your brothers Andy and Argent."

"Yeah," Astrid replied, "I show a bit more of my family's Japanese heritage than either Andy or Argent. But I'm getting off subject here." Turning to face Lincoln, Astrid said, "Ronnie Anne told me about how you intimidated both Ross and Chandler. Is that true?"

"Oh, them?" Lincoln asked. With a nod, the white-haired boy said, "Yeah, I guess I did make both of them back off. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with either of them at the time."

Astrid gave an understanding nod before continuing with a slight giggle, "I've been trying to get those two to take a hint and leave me alone. Who could have guessed that I just needed a little help from you?" With a gentle shake of her head, Astrid continued, "Anyway, a friend of me and Ronnie Anne's is having a birthday party today after school at the restaurant that my family owns. If you want, you can swing by."

A bit surprised by Astrid's offer, Lincoln pointed out in a somewhat dry tone, "But I don't even have a gift for your friend. Can you at least give me some time to pick something up before I go to the party?"

"Meet up with me after school, Lame-o," Ronnie Anne said, "I still need to pick something up for Susan myself, and Bobby told me that he'd take me over to the mall so I can buy a birthday gift for her. I'm pretty sure I can convince Bobby to let you come along."

With a slight smile, Lincoln replied, "Thanks, Ronnie Anne." After Ronnie Anne and Astrid took their leave, Lincoln turned to regard Rusty and Zach.

"It still amazes me how you aren't frightened of Ronnie Anne, dude," Rusty remarked in a tone of amazement, "I mean, I still have nightmares about that girl."

"When I heard that Ronnie Anne wasn't really going to move to Great Lakes City after all, I went down to the local church so I could ask the priest to bless me," Zach stated.

"Guys, relax," Lincoln said as he picked up the textbook that he was studying out of, "Ronnie Anne isn't as bad as you're making her out to be. You just need to not to rile her up is all." As the boys resumed their studying, Lincoln thought about how his friends are amazed that he isn't frightened of Ronnie Anne. Although the white-haired boy was, a long time ago, frightened of the Hispanic girl, that had long since passed, especially when Ronnie Anne started acting affectionate towards him. …Well, affectionate in her own way, that is. Yes, Lincoln was no longer frightened of the Hispanic girl.

There were _other_ things that frightened Lincoln, after all.

* * *

After classes let out for the day, Lincoln went with Ronnie Anne and Bobby to Royal Woods Mall so that he and Ronnie Anne could both try and find something for Ronnie Anne and Astrid's friend Susan. "Hey, can I ask you something, Bobby?" Lincoln said as he and the Santiago siblings were in one of the mall's many stores.

"What's up, Bro?" Bobby asked.

"Luan told me about how you stopped her in the hallway a short while ago at the High School," Lincoln began, "And that you were giving her a bit of grief about what she and some of my sisters had done." Looking up at the Hispanic teen, Lincoln asked, "Is that true?"

"You said so yourself, Lincoln," Bobby replied, "That crazed prankster is one of your sisters who made your life a living hell and made you run away!" Lincoln sighed; he remembered when Bobby was asking him about why he had run away. As he was expected to name some names, Lincoln mentioned Luan as one of his sisters who worked to make things difficult for him, shifting the blame onto her and a select few others, instead of the sisters as a whole; this also included covering up Lori's involvement, as Lincoln didn't want to put her (Lori's) relationship with Bobby at risk.

"I can appreciate that you're trying to look out for me, Bobby," Lincoln replied, "But you don't have to go so far as to threaten Luan. Besides, Luan's my sister. If she does something, I can deal with it myself." That last part surprised Bobby; from what he was picking up on the matter, Lincoln had apparently reconciled with Luan, one of the four sisters who decided to make his life hell before he ran away. Counting baby Lily, which Lori had previously told him about, Bobby knew that Lincoln had reconciled with two of his sisters

"That's pretty mature of you, bro," Bobby remarked, "Handling your issues like that on your own. You're really getting to be a man, Lincoln." With a bit of an embarrassed look on his face, the Hispanic teen added, "Also, sorry for trying to grill your sister like that. I just can't stand what she and some of the others had done, you know?"

Nodding in an understanding manner, Lincoln replied, "Thanks Bobby." Turning around, Lincoln spotted Ronnie Anne looking at a wall of merchandise, browsing what was in stock. Getting a bit of a mischievous idea, Lincoln said to Bobby just loud enough for Ronnie Anne to hear, "So Bobby, you said that you have a picture of Ronnie Anne back when she was five." Upon hearing Lincoln say that, Ronnie Anne stopped her browsing.

"You mean the one where she's dressed up like a little princess?" Bobby replied, "Yeah, what about it, dude?"

"I don't suppose you that can show me that picture, can you?" Lincoln asked, a hint of mischief in his tone that only Ronnie Anne was able to pick up on; Bobby was completely oblivious.

"Can I show you?" Bobby replied in an almost delighted tone, "Heck, I have it in my wallet!" Reaching into his right back pocket, Bobby said, "It'll take me a minute to fish it out, bro."

"Bobby, don't you dare show that picture to Lincoln!" Ronnie Anne nearly exclaimed as she turned around to point dramatically at her older brother.

"Oh, come on, Nie-Nie," Bobby replied, "It's a really adorable picture of you! Besides, you saw that one baby picture of the bro a while ago when Lori pulled out her family's photo album, so fair is fair."

"ARUGH!" Ronnie Anne cried out in frustrated anger, shaking clenched hands in the air.

* * *

After the two fifth graders had gotten gifts for Susan's birthday party, Bobby was driving them to the location of the party. Ronnie Anne, her arms crossed, had a very grumpy look on her face. "…If you tell anyone about what you saw, Lame-o, I will never forgive you," Ronnie Anne said in a clearly peeved tone.

"Why are you so embarrassed about it?" Lincoln asked, "I mean, Bobby was right about how you looked absolutely adorable back then."

To her surprise, Ronnie Anne found her interest was piqued by Lincoln's admission. "…Are you serious?" the Hispanic tomboy asked.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Lincoln said, "Yeah. I mean, what about that picture do you find to be so embarrassing?"

"…I wore glasses back then," Ronnie Anne admitted, a hint of embarrassed blushing on her face. It was true; the picture that Bobby had showed a five-year-old Ronnie Anne dressed in a long-sleeved lavender princess dress, holding a wand, and the little Hispanic girl was wearing what looked like horn-rimmed glasses. With a huff, the Queen of Pain added, "It was embarrassing how I looked with those glasses back then."

"I personally don't see what the big deal is about how you used to wear glassed," Lincoln said, "I mean, Lisa wears glasses, remember?"

"The bro has a point, Nie-Nie," Bobby remarked, "And Lori used to wear glasses too, back when she and I were in middle school." With a gentle shake of his head, Bobby remarked, "A darn shame that I wasn't able to work up the courage to tell Lori that I thought she was really cute until around the time we were both in high school. I kept getting cold feet."

Lincoln merely nodded in response; he remembered what Lori was like back during her Middle School days, during the oldest Loud girl's quote unquote 'awkward phase'. The white-haired boy also fully remembered the day that Lori started to show an active interest in boys, Bobby in particular. It was a day that still pained Lincoln's heart to this day.

It was the day that Lori stopped being his favorite sister.

"Alright, we're here!" Bobby said suddenly, dragging Lincoln out of his thoughts and prompting both him and Ronnie Anne to look out the window. When he looked out the window, Lincoln instantly recognized the restaurant that Bobby had taken him and Ronnie Anne to.

"Odin-Dono's Swedish-Japanese Cuisine?" Lincoln said aloud as he recognized the fusion restaurant that Albert and Myrtle had taken him to lunch at a few days back.

Nodding once in confirmation, Bobby explained, "Yeah, my friend Aggro's family owns this place. It's a Swedish and Japanese place because Aggro's mom and dad were born in Sweden and Japan respectively before they moved here to the states and met each other."

With a curious look on his face, Lincoln turned to face Ronnie Anne and said, "Hey Ronnie Anne, you told me that your friend Astrid's family owns the restaurant that Susan's birthday party was being held at, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and this is it," Ronnie Anne replied with a nod in the affirmative as she pointed out the window, "Bobby's friend Aggro is Astrid's older brother."

"We ought to be heading on inside now," Bobby remarked, "We can't afford to keep the birthday girl and her party waiting, now can we?" Lincoln and Ronnie Anne both nodded in agreement as they followed the Hispanic teen into the fusion restaurant.

* * *

A private room in Odin-Dono's was set up for Susan's birthday party. While the girls at the party were all laughing and having a good time, Lincoln was off to the side, talking to Bobby and Bobby's friend Aggro. The male Ace teen had fair skin and long pale blonde hair that trailed down his back in a men's ponytail, save for his bangs which he allowed to frame his face.

Aggro wore a long-sleeved light gray shirt (the ends of the sleeves hanging loosely, not clinging tightly, around the wrists) under a seafoam green men's tank top, a pair of light gray cargo pants help up with a belt, a pair of men's sandals and, oddly enough, a sleeveless haori long coat the same color as his men's tank top.

Aggro also had a pair of white studio headphones (with black circles on the outside of the earpads) hanging around his neck, the cords from the earpads trailing down until they became a single cord that disappeared into the right front pocket of his pants. Similar to Astrid, Aggro displayed more of the Ace family's Japanese heritage than some of the other Ace siblings.

"So, Lincoln," Aggro began as he regarded the white-haired boy, "Astrid told me that you made some troublesome little boy named Ross back down from bothering you." With a look of wry amusement, Aggro continued, "And you did so only by giving the kid a glare. I have to admit, that's pretty impressive."

"Well he was giving me and my friends some trouble, and I was in no mood to deal with him," Lincoln admitted.

Nodding in an understanding manner, Aggro replied, "That's understandable, I suppose."

"If I hear about anyone bothering on Ronnie Anne like that, I'll deal with them personally and right away," Bobby swore. Lincoln suppressed a chuckle after he heard the declaration that Bobby had made; the Hispanic teen obviously isn't aware of the fact that his little sister can handle any bothersome twats like Ross on her own. After successfully suppressing the chuckle, Lincoln let out a yawn; although neither Bobby nor Aggro had noticed Lincoln suppressing a chuckle, they did notice the white-haired boy's yawning.

"Yo Lincoln, are you okay?" Bobby asked Lincoln in a concerned tone, "You look kind of bushed. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"I…had a very disturbing nightmare," Lincoln admitted with a mildly worried look on his face. Sighing, the white-haired boy continued, "It's got me spooked."

"I don't suppose you'd care to talk about it?" Aggro asked in a gentle and understanding tone, "Bobby and I may not be certified psychologists, but that shouldn't stop us from giving our two cents on the matter and try to help you, Lincoln."

"Yeah," Bobby said in a tone of agreement, "We're bros, and bros stick together."

With a small and sad yet appreciative smile, Lincoln said, "Thanks, but you guys are going to be looking at me weird, not to mention think that I'm slightly creepy."

"We'll see about that," Bobby remarked in something of a dry tone, "You'd be surprised by how eccentric my Grandpa Hector is."

Looking up at Bobby, Lincoln said, "You'll probably be really upset with me when I give you the full details about my bad dream from last night, Bobby."

"Again, try me," the Hispanic teen replied, his tone confident.

Sighing in a mildly resigned tone, the white-haired boy figured that he might as well get this over with. "Okay, here's how the dream began," Lincoln said as he started his story, "I was chasing down someone through an alleyway. When they tripped and fell, I jumped onto them, pulled out a knife, and stabbed them repeatedly until I had killed them."

Both Bobby and Aggro's eyes widened in shock upon hearing the dream that Lincoln was describing. "After I had killed the person," Lincoln continued as he went on with his story, "I saw that they were wearing a bandana over the lower half of their face, so I bent over to remove the bandana." Gulping nervously, Lincoln said, "When I did, I saw that…that the person that I had killed was one of my sisters."

"That…" Aggro remarked in a troubled tone, "…Is a rather troubling dream, I will admit." Shaking his head gently, the Ace teen continued, "I've been made aware about you running away from home sometime ago, along with being given a basic summary of everything around it, by Bobby, including how four of your sisters treating you horrifically is the reason why you ran away from home." With a somewhat serious look on his face, Aggro asked, "Would I be correct in assuming that the sister of yours that you killed in your dream last night is one of the sisters who made you suffer so much that you decided to run away, yes or no?"

Technically, Aggro's guess was rather spot on, as all of Lincoln's sisters had fallen for the bad luck ruse, thus they treated him like he carried the plague. But Lincoln remembered what he had started back in Bobby's relatives' apartment, so he had to act accordingly. With a gentle shake of his head in the negative, Lincoln said in a mildly upset and scared tone, "No. It was Lori."

"It was Lori?!" Bobby nearly exclaimed; if it wasn't for the party distracting them, the other kids would have heard the Hispanic teen shout just now.

With a mildly sad look on his face, Lincoln said as he looked up at Bobby, "That's why I said that you'd probably be really upset with me if I went into detail about my bad dream from last night, Bobby."

Inhaling and exhaling, Bobby said in a(n admittedly mildly strained) tone, "No, bro, no. I'm not really that upset. Lori and the others _were_ tricked into playing along, so it'd be understandable if you were really upset with them, even on some sort of unconscious level."

"Bobby has a point," Aggro remarked as he turned to face Lincoln, "The way your sisters had betrayed you, even those who were tricked, is not something that one can forgive easily."

Lincoln nodded once or twice in thanks for the older boys acknowledging and sympathizing with him. But the white-haired boy's conscious was still mildly troubled. "What am I going to do, though?" Lincoln asked, "I mean, I would never do anything like what I did in my dream to any of my sisters, even the ones who worked together to drive me away. And yet in the bad dream, I killed one of my older sisters, in cold blood." His eyes widening a bit out of being freaked out, Lincoln said, "What if I'm losing my mind? What if I'm turning into some sort of monster?!"

"You aren't a monster, bro," Bobby said, getting Lincoln to stop mid-freak out and look up at him and Aggro. "You aren't a monster," the Hispanic teen reiterated, "You aren't turning into one, either."

"Bobby's right," Aggro remarked in a tone of agreement, "You yourself had just said that you would never take the life of one of your sisters, even the ones that had made you suffer. Were you serious when you said that?"

"Yes," Lincoln replied, his tone firm and serious.

"And your dream from last night has you feeling disturbed," Aggro went on, "Would that be accurate to say, yes or no?"

"It's perfectly accurate, yes," Lincoln said.

With a mild smile, Aggro explained, "In that case Lincoln, you are by no means a monster. If your dream from last night didn't have you feeling disturbed on some level, then that would be cause for alarm. But your dream did disturb you, making you see things that you would never want to do in real life." With a confident nod, the Ace teen added, "Bobby is right when he says that you are by no means a monster, nor are you turning into one."

With another appreciative smile that seemed a little bit sad, Lincoln said, "Thanks."

"Hey, it's no big deal, bro," Bobby remarked, "And hey, this lets me pay you back for when you helped me sort through that one nightmare that I had."

Chuckling a bit this time, Lincoln said, "Yeah, Bobby. I don't really see Lori ever wanting to break up with you."

With a bit of an amused hum, Aggro turned to face Bobby and said, "Mmm, you're pretty lucky, Bobby. You managed to find yourself in a relationship, yet I myself am still single."

"It's not like you've ever tried to get a girlfriend, dude," Bobby replied when he turned to face his Swedish/Japanese friend, "Although with how many girls at school have been scoping you out, I'm surprised that you haven't tried to give any of them a shot." With a mildly suspicious look on his face, Bobby asked, "You aren't hoping to try and steal Lori from me, are you?"

"Nonsense," Aggro answered, a hand on his hip as he waived the index finger of his other hand back and forth, "I have no such interest in Lori." Lowing his hand that he had up, Aggro continued, "Besides, she's one of the girls on the varsity golf team that's been practically hounding Allison to join them. If I started dating one of those girls, Allison would never let me hear the end of it." With a mildly amused look on his face, Aggro added, "Also, I was kind of hoping that I would get to be your best man when you and Lori tie the knot."

"Bro…" Bobby replied in a genuinely touched tone, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, "…Dude." The Hispanic teen then threw his arms around his Swedish/Japanese friend to draw him into a bro-hug. As the white-haired boy watched the scene unfold in mild confusion, Ronnie Anne came walking up over to him.

"Hey Lame-o," Ronnie Anne began in a casual tone, "Astrid's mom was able to get some Swedish candy for the party, and it is out of this-" The Queen of Pain stopped short when she saw that her older brother was hugging the Ace teen. "…Why did my older brother have to be such an overly emotional goof?" Ronnie Anne said in a deadpan tone.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER FIVE

Author's note:

Although this chapter, for the most part, is generally the same as it was in the original, there are a few big changes in order to fit the new narrative, chief among them being that Lori wasn't the sister who Lincoln killed in his dream in the original. Lori's new involvement in this regard will be a plot point that'll be cropping up later down the line, mark my words.

Anyway, the next chapter I intend to use to further develop Chandler and his character arc in this story. Although Chandler is still going to play something of an antagonistic role, I'll be working to try and make him far more sympathetic.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter six: The Chandler Tales, part one

Chandler McCann, a fifth grader over at Royal Woods Elementary School, was at home one day, playing on his Playtendo Swap. The popular boy was feeling a bit amused, as he had heard that someone had duped Ross, his rival for the affections of Astrid Ace, into thinking that Astrid was confessing her love to him by leaving him a fake love letter. The embarrassment that blonde boy suffered, which was further magnified when Ronnie Anne Santiago actually confessed to writing the love note as a prank on him, was excruciating for Ross.

…But amusing to Chandler.

Amused by the embarrassment that his rival-in-love suffered, as well as feeling relieved that the girl that the two boys were competing against each other for didn't actually confess to said rival, Chandler was in a really good mood. The red-headed boy felt as if there wasn't anything that could possibly sour his good mood right now.

…Unfortunately, as Chandler got his character in the game he was playing to the next town for some sort of quest, he heard some shouting from the downstairs living room that decided to prove to him that he was actually rather wrong in his assumption.

"Are you kidding me?!" an adult man's voice practically shouted, "How is it that the phone bill for this month is _this_ frigg'en high?!"

"Didn't I tell you I had that call with my brother who lived over in Washington State?" an adult woman's voice replied, "About our father who he's caring for is in terrible health?"

"Seriously?! A cross-country call?!" the man's voice shouted, "How long was it?"

"At least an hour," the woman's voice could be heard saying, "We had a lot to discuss, especially since our father is dying from the looks of things."

Growling a bit in a frustrated manner, the man's voice shouted, "Couldn't you have kept it brief, though? It's not like I'm made of money, you know!" Sighing, the man's voice said, "This isn't what I need right now, especially given that I'm still competing with that asshole at work for that big promotion."

As the argument downstairs simmered down, especially since the woman was shifting to stroking the man's ego which calmed him down significantly, Chandler could not help but feel disgusted, feel angry, feel trapped. Arguments like that between his parents have been the norm for quite some time now, even more so when it involved making Chandler's dad spend more money than he absolutely had to; why _else_ do you think Chandler's birthday parties are held as the sewage treatment plant every year?

As Chandler closed out of the game he was playing so he could start up another one, he overheard another conversation from downstairs. "So yeah, I'm now having to compete with that asshole at work for the new management position," Chandler's dad said, "It'll mean a lot more money if I get the promotion."

"Wait a minute," Chandler's mom replied, "Wouldn't it also mean that if you get the promotion, you'll be having to work more hours?"

"Yeah, I won't be around as much if I get the promotion," Chandler's dad remarked. After a bit of a pause, Chandler's dad added, "That being said, it's still no excuse to blow through my paycheck, increased as it will be."

As the talking downstairs continued, Chandler shifted gears to focus on his video game. Even so, the red-headed boy could not help but be intrigued by the one part that he overheard his dad say downstairs. He won't be around as much? Chandler and his mom will have more time away from that controlling, dominating oaf? This sounds like it's too good to be true.

But never let it be said that Chandler never dreams.

* * *

The following day, Chandler was over at his cousin Kara's place. Kara is a fair-skinned thirteen-year-old girl who has white hair with pale green shading near the ends, and the hair was tied into twin pigtails, with each pigtail adorned with three fairly large green beads. Kara wore a white capelet (with green trim) that had a light fur collar, a green long-sleeved blouse, a white frilly skirt, white stockings that reached over her knees, and green shoes. The girl's eyes were also a bright and vibrant shade of emerald green.

"So your dad's competing with some guy at the sewage treatment plant for some big promotion," Kara began, sounding like she was trying to get facts straight, "And if he gets it he'll hardly be around because his new work will be keeping him that busy?"

Nodding a few times in the affirmative, Chandler said, "It'll give the rest of the household a fair bit more breathing room away from him."

Kara, with a dry look on her face, replied, "So…you and your mom." Chandler once again nodded in the affirmative. With a sympathetic sigh, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "To be honest, I can't really blame you, cous. My own old man is pretty shitty as well."

"Yeah, didn't you say something about how he's constantly forcing you to participate in sports?" Chandler asked, a mildly questioning look on his face.

Nodding in confirmation, Kara said, "Exactly, even though playing in sports like that is the absolute last thing I'd ever want to do."

"Does he know you don't like sports?" Chandler asked.

"When I tried to suggest that one time," Kara began to reply in a dry tone, "He gave me a backhanded slap across the right side of my face." Crossing her arms over her chest, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "So basically, it's a cardinal sin in my family's household to not have any liking for sports. At least that's my dad's mindset."

Chandler took in a breath as he contemplated things; it seemed that when it comes to terrible dads, both Chandler himself and Kara were in the same boat. This made Chandler realize how lucky some of his classmates were compared to him. Chandler's friends, those being Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie, all had awesome dads. Even Chandler's classmates who the red-headed boy had belittled prior to the turnaround of his character had a good relationship with their respective old men, especially McBride, who had TWO great dads. The red-headed boy was even jealous of the kids in his class who DON'T have dads, such as Ronnie Anne and Astrid.

Gently shaking her head, Kara said, "Well anyway, I have to get ready."

Curious, Chandler asked his older cousin, "Ready for what?"

"I have a baseball game later today," Kara explained as she gestured to what looked like a kid or very young teen's baseball uniform, obviously made for a member of a youth team. The uniform consisted of a jersey with the top third blue, middle third white and bottom third blue again; there was also a pair of sports shorts the same shade of blue, and a baseball cap that was blue for its entirety save for the front of the cap part, which was white. "We're going to be playing against our rivals today, who are basically the red team to our blue team," the thirteen-year-old girl said.

"Do you think your team will win?" Chandler asked, sound curious.

With an indifferent shrug, Kara replied, "Seeing as how we're going to be cheating during today's game, I don't see how we can lose."

Chandler, with a surprised and mildly shocked look on his face, said, "Wait a minute, cous. Did you say that your team was going to cheat during today's game?"

"We've cheated in every game we've been in during the current season," Kara said, "It's under the coach's orders." With an indifferent shrug, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "But then again, since the coach is making money off of bets he makes on the games we play, I can see why he'd want us to win no matter what."

"Does anyone know?" Chandler asked.

Gently shaking her head, Kara replied, "Nope. The coach told us not to tell anyone."

"You guys could get into a lot of trouble if word of what your team's been doing gets out," Chandler pointed out.

"Hence why our coach told us not to tell anyone," Kara replied. With a sigh, Kara continued, "Trust me, Chandler. If I could, I would gladly leak word of what my team's been doing, because doing so would get me out of having to play baseball for the rest of the season. But not only would my team probably find out, which will lead them and the coach to give me no end of grief, but my dad will also get pissed because he'll interpret it as me trying to get out of having to play in sports."

The red-headed boy considered what his cousin had told him; he could not blame Kara for keeping quiet thus far because of how she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. That made Kara more similar to Chandler than he at first believed, if not making Kara have a more difficult time than Chandler. At least _he_ wasn't being made to compete in sports like his older cousin; he wouldn't suffer any negative repercussions if-

Chandler suddenly stopped mid-thought, as a look of dawning realization started appearing on his face. "…Where is your baseball game taking place today?" Chandler asked.

Kara, with a mildly curious and confused look on her face, replied, "At the local baseball park. Why do you ask? You planning to come out and join me in hoping like hell that my team will actually lose today?"

"Oh, yeah, I'd like to come out and see you play," the red-headed boy replied, a hint of knowing amusement in his tone, a hint that his older cousin failed to pick up on.

Either way, Chandler was sure that Kara would be grateful towards him before the day was out.

* * *

The skies were clear and the sun was shining at Royal Wood's local baseball park, which was just a basic baseball field prepared in part of the actual local park, set aside for kids to come in and play some baseball. Chandler's parents were surprised to hear from him that he wanted to go see the game; they initially assumed that their son had no interest in sports.

Things became clearer for the McCann parents when Chandler explained that Kara was competing in the game today, and that he wanted to go out to the game and watch her play. You know, providing moral support and all that good jazz. Chandler's parents found this to be really sweet of their son and only child; Chandler's dad in particular was proud that Chandler was wanting to show support for the rest of the family, so he was all for letting Chandler go and watch the game.

"_I can_'_t believe he actually gave me permission to get away from him_," Chandler thought as he tried to find a seat in the bleachers that was at least halfway decent. As Chandler looked for a place where he would have a decent vantage point to watch his cousin's baseball game from, the red-headed boy spotted a blonde-haired woman who he recognized from his last trip that he took to the dentist's office (Chandler needed to have a wisdom tooth pulled out).

"_Isn_'_t that Lincoln_'_s mom Mrs_. _Loud_?" Chandler thought as he saw Rita Loud talking to a few parents. A few moments into the conversation the adults were having, a girl on the team with the red uniform came up to Rita. This girl, who Chandler did not recognize, was similarly fair-skinned like Rita, and had brownish hair that was kept up in a sporty ponytail. Chandler also estimated that this girl was about the same age as Kara.

"_I_'_m guessing that girl is Mrs_. _Loud_'_s daughter_," Chandler thought, "_Which would make her Lincoln_'_s sister_. _Huh_, _she_'_s on the team opposing Kara_'_s team_." The red-headed boy decided that this entire business was ultimately a non-factor, and proceeded to resuming looking for a good seat. If he was being completely honest with himself, Chandler wasn't planning on using whatever seat he found all that much; he just needed to have a seat somewhere in the bleachers.

It was part of his plan to bail his cousin out of the trouble she was finding herself in.

* * *

About half-way though the game, the score showed that Kara's team was leaving the opposing team well behind; the opposing team barely had any points at all compared to Kara's team. As he watched the game unfold, Chandler, who sat in the very top row of seats in the bleachers on the far right (from Chandler's point of view) side, contributed this vast success of Kara's team to the rampant cheating that she mentioned to him earlier.

Seeing as how everyone was focused on the game, Chandler figured that he could slip away. Getting up, he told a few people he had to get past that he needed to use the bathroom, allowing him to leave the bleachers as he made a turn to make it look like he was headed for the bathrooms. In reality, the red-headed boy had a much more different target in mind, that being the locker room that was being used by his cousin's team.

There was very little people around, the only person Chandler spotted being an older male janitor who fell asleep on the job. Given the man's apparent age, Chandler wouldn't hold this against him. In fact, Chandler was silently thankful that the only person who could have been in his way was fast asleep. Chandler also noticed that there were absolutely no camera anywhere, meaning he wouldn't be spotted/recorded at all. Again, lucky; Chandler was planning to weave a tale, and the lack of cameras that could have proven him wrong helped the tale he was cooking up.

Chandler proceeded to check a few of the lockers, as well as one or two sports bags that he spotted sitting around in the locker room for Kara's team. Chandler didn't even search two separate places before he found a jar of Vaseline, the first bit of evidence confirming what Kara had told him earlier. One or two other searches revealed one or two other bits of evidence suggesting known methods of cheating in baseball.

"_This is just too good to be true_," Chandler thought as he collected the first bit of evidence that he found. He decided that it would be best if he didn't search the entirety of the locker room; best leave any other potential finds for officials to discover.

* * *

Two men who were helping to manage the game were talking to each other near the announcer's booth. "Wow, the blue team is kicking the red team's ass, huh?" said the first guy, a fair-skinned slim but healthy man with straight, shoulder length black hair. The Star of David necklace he wore suggested that this man was Jewish.

Nodding in agreement to the first man was the second man, who was also slim yet healthy, but was clearly Hispanic instead. He had black hair that was somewhat longer and a bit more on the wild side in terms of appearance. "Totally," the second man replied, "What's especially weird about this is that the red team has a star player like miss-"

"Excuse me, sirs," a young boy's voice said, interrupting both men and making them turn and look down. As such, they spotted Chandler, who wore a concerned expression on his face. "I overheard a few boys wearing the blue team's uniforms talk about how much Vaseline they thought they could get away with putting on the baseballs they threw," Chandler began, "I heard that Vaseline on a baseball is a known method of cheating, so I got worried and decided to look into things." Holding up the Vaseline jar he found, Chandler continued, "I found this just sitting on a chair in the blue team's locker room."

"Are you serious, young man?" the first man asked Chandler.

Nodding in the affirmative, Chandler said, "I was worried that the blue team might seriously be cheating, so I hoped to find someone who can look into the matter further and confirm if what I fear is true."

The two men turned to face each other, then turned to face Chandler. "…We're going to look into matters here, young man," the second man said, then added when he turned to face the first man, "Come on, dude. We've got to do a search of the blue team's locker room."

"Right," the first man replied as he nodded in agreement while following his fellow.

* * *

Chandler returned to the seat he had just before the second half of the ongoing game started up. Chandler saw that some girl on Kara's team (not Kara herself) was up to bat, and that brown-haired girl that Chandler had identified as a (potential; Chandler doesn't yet know for certain) sister of Lincoln Loud's was up to pitch. Chandler, from what he has been able to observe up to this point, noticed that the brown-haired girl pretty much scored all of the points that the red team had been able to accumulate in the game, meaning that she had been more or less carrying her entire team during today's game.

"_Wow_, _Lincoln_'_s sister must be really good if she can score fairly against unfair opposition_," Chandler thought as he continued to watch the game unfold, "_I bet that the red team would have been winning right now if it wasn_'_t for Kara_'_s team playing against the rules_." The red-headed boy watched as he saw the brown-haired girl raise her right arm back, preparing to throw the baseball that she was holding.

However, as she was throwing the baseball, she was stopped mid-movement, resembling a statue of a baseball player in mid throw, when an announcement from the announcer's booth sounded out suddenly. "Attention, everyone!" the announcer began, "A search of the blue team's locker room has unfortunately revealed evidence that they have been playing unfairly in today's game. As such, the blue team has been disqualified from today's game, meaning the red team wins." As the audience began to murmur amongst themselves in surprised, confused and disappointed tones while the blue team members (aside from Kara, who looked a little relieved) began to shout and complain, claiming that 'they must have been framed', or other such excuses like that.

But in truth, they weren't framed.

The search of the blue team's locker room not only revealed the three to four max number of things Chandler discovered but left, but the search also revealed several more things well beyond that. The coach's office in the locker room, which was locked thus Chandler couldn't get inside to look around, had just as many bits of evidence as the rest of the locker room combined. Some paper money and a book that was being used to manage bets were also discovered, showing that the blue team's coach was illegally making money off of his team's games.

Seeing how far some of the dates in the coach's bet book went, a proper investigation was launched, and from that, it was discovered that the blue team had been cheating in every game in the current season up to this point, along with a few games in the previous season; this included a highly important game in which the blue team beat the red team, their opponent in today's game, and won a trophy for their troubles.

It goes without saying that not only did the blue team have their aforementioned trophy revoked, but they had been disqualified for the rest of the season, meaning that they wouldn't be seeing any games for the rest of the year. This scandal would be the talk of Royal Woods for the next couple of weeks, if not next couple of months. But that business is in the far off future.

The business here is what's going on in the here and now…

…

"So," Kara said to Chandler in private just after the game today had been ended early, "That's why you wanted to come and watch me play in today's game." With an amused, appreciative smile, the thirteen-year-old girl said, "Thanks, cous. And I believe it goes without saying that this will be kept between the two of us."

"Naturally," the red-headed boy replied. With a curious look, he continued, "Say, now that you don't have any more baseball for the rest of the year, what do you plan to do with your time?"

With a shrug, Kara replied, "Until my shitty old man finds some new sport to force me to throw myself into twenty-four-seven, I'll be doing what I actually like."

Giving his older cousin a wry, knowing look, Chandler said, "So it'll be nothing but reading manga, watching anime and playing video games?"

Kara, with a mildly amused look on her face, gave her younger cousin a thumbs up before said, "You got that rig-"

*SMACK* "GAHHH!"

Chandler and Kara both stopped short when they heard a rather loud smack, followed by a boy's voice cry out in surprised pain. Looking over in the direction the noise came from, Chandler and Kara both spotted a boy on Kara's team, standing there looking a mix of physically in pain and mildly dumbfounded. Storming away from that boy was the girl from the red team who Chandler believed was Lincoln's sister. Chandler also noticed the upset, crying look on the girl's face.

"…The hell was that all about?" Chandler asked as he and Kara turned back to face each other.

"Oh, that," Kara remarked, her tone sounding entirely indifferent towards the plight of the boy she and Chandler saw get slapped across the face. Pointing to the boy on her team, Kara said, "That boy over there is Francisco, one of the boys on my team. Like myself, Francisco is one of the very few members of the team who did not commit any of the actual cheating."

Pointing in the direction the red team girl stormed off in, Chandler asked, "And I don't suppose you can fill me in on who that girl that smacked Francisco could be?"

With a look of concentrating consideration on her face, the thirteen-year-old girl said, "…I'm pretty sure that girl was one of the ten Loud sisters." Turning to regard her cousin, Kara added, "I'm going to have to ask my friend Lincoln about it later. He's part of the Loud family himself, and I heard that he recently came back to Royal Woods after having run away from home for some odd reason or another."

"Wait a minute," Chandler said as he turned to face Kara, "You're friends with Lincoln? Lincoln has ten sisters?!"

Nodding in the affirmative, Kara said, "Yes, I'm friends with Lincoln. He's one of the very few people I've met who can go toe to toe with me in video games. That's some serious skill that I have got to give props for."

Chandler turned back to face the direction that the girl who's (most likely at this point) Lincoln's sister stormed off in. Chandler also looked back to where the boy that Kara identified as Francisco was standing. As Francisco continued to stand there with the dumbfounded look on his face, an adult man came over to the stunned baseball player and asked if he was okay. When Chandler saw that man, he was surprised that he recognized who the man was.

It was the man that his (Chandler's) dad was competing with for that promotion at the sewage treatment plant.

Pointing to where Francisco and the man was talking, Chandler asked, "Who's that guy talking to Francisco?"

"Oh, that's Francisco's dad," Kara remarked, her tone sounding indifferent at best, "He's a hell of a lot more lenient than my shitty old man, that's for sure."

"…Francisco's dad is the guy who my dad is competing with for that big promotion at the sewage treatment plant," the red-headed boy remarked, a clear hint of surprise in his tone.

Kara, with a look of piqued interest on her face, turned to face her younger cousin. "You don't say, Chandler," the thirteen-year-old girl remarked.

Chandler nodded in confirmation to show that he was telling the truth. The two cousins talked for a few more moments before they went their separate ways to return home. Chandler was still surprised to discover that one of the boys on Kara's baseball team is the son of the man that is competing with his dad at work. Suffice it to say, the gears in Chandler's head were already starting to turn. Gears that had long since stopped ever since Chandler had begun to clean up his act. But those gears were turning for a reason that Chandler thought was rather justifiable, if one were to get down to it.

The red-headed boy was wondering what he could do with this info that he learned today in order to ultimately get himself and (more importantly, at least if you asked Chandler for his opinion) his mom some much-needed relief.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER SIX

Author's note:

And this has been the first of many (at least a few) chapters dedicated to fleshing out Chandler and his subplot that will be going on over the course of this story. He's still going to be antagonistic, but here I tried to give him a reason that was at least decent, at least enough so to help explain where Chandler is coming from on this one. Also, rest assured that Chandler won't be taking any antagonistic actions towards Lincoln. Like, at all. Period.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of Lincoln, he will be appearing in the next chapter, the beginning of which will take place shortly after the end of the baseball game that took place in this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter seven: Honor on the gridiron

It was a lovely enough morning day in Royal Woods, Michigan. Over at the Loud family residence, Lola Loud was entertaining a guest that she was having over. This is nothing too out of the ordinary; after all, Lola, who views herself as something of a 'proper lady', likes to host guests for social visits as she and they enjoy various refreshments. However, what made this specific visit particularly interesting was that the guest that Lola had over was a boy. In fact, the boy in question is Winston, the boy that the pageant winning Loud sister has a crush on.

After Lola finished a story that she was telling to Winston, the blonde-haired boy replied in a good-humored tone, "That's nothing. Why, you should have seen the mess my mother got herself into at the Royal Woods Mall last week."

"Did it happen on Thursday, by any chance?" the pageant-winning Loud sister asked, "Because if it did, then the story that my older sister Leni told me and the rest of my siblings when she got home from the mall that day suddenly makes way more sense."

As both Lola and Winston shared a good-natured laugh, Lola's older brother Lincoln came walking by. Although Lola wholeheartedly views Lincoln as her sibling, the feeling wasn't being returned at the moment; the white-haired boy was still feeling strong resentment towards most of his family due to the whole bad luck business that went down some time ago. Granted, Lincoln did have a role in it to some extent, but he only did so because otherwise he wouldn't get any time to himself. It was the rest of the Louds, with Lola being among that number, who took things way too far.

"Having fun, Lola?" Lincoln remarked casually as he was making his way over to the fridge to grab a can of cola, getting both six-year-olds to look over and see him there.

"Oh, Lincoln!" Lola said in a mildly surprised tone, not knowing that Lincoln was even there until he had spoken up. "Umm, yeah," Lola continued nervously, "Winston and I were just recounting funny stories that happened over at Royal Woods Mall."

"Hey, wait a minute," Winston said as he got a look at Lincoln, "Aren't you that fellow who intimidated that uncouth Ross fellow and his goons?"

"Oh yeah, that," Lincoln replied in an indifferent, casual tone, "Yeah, the glare I gave those clowns made them turn tail and run."

"Nothing more than a glare, huh?," Winston began in a mildly curious tone, "Wow, and here I was beginning to think that-" The blonde-haired six-year-old boy was cut off midsentence when the front door of the Loud residence was opened with such force that it made a sort of banging sound that got the attention of everyone that was currently there. The banging sound was quickly followed up by the sounds of one of the Loud girls crying.

"…What the hell is that?" Lincoln said as he, followed by Lola and Winston, went out to the front area of the house to see what was going on. Although the white-haired boy was still rather upset with most of the Loud girls, that doesn't necessarily mean that he wants to hear any of them cry. But anyway, when Lincoln, Lola and Winston arrived in the front area of the house, where the rest of the Loud kids were starting to gather, they saw that it was Lynn, wearing a baseball glove on her right hand; there was also a baseball bat lying on the floor on Lynn's right. It was clear that the sporty Loud sister had just gotten back from a baseball game. Everyone also saw that Lynn was the one who was crying.

"…Lynn's crying after coming back home from a baseball game?" Lincoln muttered to himself, his tone sounding more curious than anything else, "What happened?"

Lola must have heard what her older brother said because she made a scoffing sound before saying, "Her team must have lost the game, and there wasn't anyone there for her to blame the loss on." With a gentle shake of her head, the pageant-winning Loud sister continued as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Lynn's just being a sore loser, is all."

As Lincoln, Lola and Winston continued to bear witness to Lynn's breakdown while the remainder of the people at the Loud residence continued to come in to see what was going on, Rita came walking into the house, having brought Lynn back home after the apparently disastrous baseball game. "Kids, Lynn's baseball game ended on a really bad note for her," Rita remarked in a concerned tone, "So I think that it would be nice if you all gave her some space for the time being."

"What, did Lynn's team lose big time or something?" Lori asked in a tone that was completely devoid of sympathy; due to recently finding out the exact extent of what Lynn had done in contributing to Lincoln's recent running away from home, the oldest Loud sibling was finding it rather difficult to show any sympathy towards her sporty younger sister. With a disapproving headshake, Lori continued, "Just because Lynn and her team lost today's Hey wait a minute…" Deviating midsentence as she suddenly remembered an important detail about Lynn's baseball game that occurred earlier, Lori began to ask, "Wasn't that the game where Lynn's team played against the team that Francisco belongs t-"

The oldest Loud sibling never got to finish that sentence because as soon as she said the name of Lynn's crush, Lynn herself shoulder-rammed Lori in the stomach, sending Lori flying into the sofa where she landed in a sitting position. The sporty Loud then leaped over to where her older sister sat, where she grabbed Lori's tank top collar with both hands to yank Lori closer to her face. With Lori's face was within an inch of her own, Lynn spoke in a tone that sent shivers down Lori's spine. "NEVER…SAY…THAT…NAME…AGAIN," Lynn threatened before she shoved Lori back into the sofa. Lynn then leapt off and ran upstairs crying.

After the clearly distressed sporty Loud sister disappeared to the second floor of the Loud family home, everyone else that was still on the ground floor began to look around with shocked, confused and mildly uncomfortable expressions. "Umm, I hate to be a bother," Winston began to ask in a mildly worried tone that made it clear he was worried about contributing to the now heavy atmosphere, "But would I be right to say that I should go home now?"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lola replied, "I can ask my mom to call your mom to come over and pick you up."

* * *

Later that afternoon, all of the Loud siblings, minus Lynn who was still upset (enough so to the point that she actually skipped dinner), were having a sibling meeting in Lori and Leni's room. Sighing in a resigned tone, Lori said, "Alright, everyone, here's the deal. As it turns out, Lynn isn't acting upset because her team lost the baseball game that they had today. As a matter of fact, Lynn's team literally won the game they played today."

"Then what has Lynn so upset, dude?" Luna asked, her tone clearly conveying that she was worried about her sporty younger sister.

With a resigned sigh as she gently rubbed her stomach (which was still a bit sore from Lynn's shoulder ram from earlier), Lori explained, "As we all know, Lynn's team played against the team that Francisco belongs to today. From what mom told me after Lynn ran up to her and Lucy's room crying earlier, it was discovered during today's game that not only had Francisco's team committed multiple instances of cheating during the current season, but they were actively trying to cheat during today's game. When all of this cheating was discovered, Francisco's team was disqualified, giving Lynn's team the win."

"Wait, what?!" Luan nearly exclaimed, a completely shocked look on the comedic loud sibling's face. It was a kind of expression that was being worn by most of the others in the room.

Nodding in mildly somber confirmation, Lisa added, "Furthermore, when Lynn had asked Francisco about his team's cheating when said cheating had been revealed, Lynn learned that, while Francisco himself didn't commit any of the cheating, he knew about what was going on but decided not to say anything about it." With a troubled sigh, the brainy Loud sister said, "As far as Lynn is concerned, even if you aren't doing any of the cheating yourself, if you discover that your team is cheating but you don't report it, then you're just as guilty. That being said, upon finding out that Francisco played such a role, Lynn was heartbroken."

"Wait a minute," Lincoln began, his expression making it clear that he didn't like what he was hearing, "_THAT_'_S_ why Lynn was crying earlier? She got her heart broken by the boy that she had a crush on?" Despite the concern that he was showing for Lynn, Lincoln is still rather upset with her for the role she played in driving him to ultimately run away from home; in fact, an argument could be made that out of all of the members of the Loud family that is he still upset with, the white-haired boy is the _most_ upset with Lynn. Additionally, if the ONLY reason that the sporty Loud sister had for her crying was because one of her sports teams had just lost a game, then Lincoln would have actually found some amusement in Lynn's current plight. But Lynn wasn't crying because one of her sports teams lost a game. Lynn was crying because the boy that she had a crush on broke her heart.

The white-haired boy does _not_ find any amusement in hearing about one of the Loud girls getting their heart broken by a crush. _AT ALL_. Not now, not ever.

"Is there anything that any of us can do to help Lynn, you guys?" Lana asked in a concerned tone, "I mean, from the sounds of things, Lynn isn't going to stop anytime soon."

With a resigned, troubled sigh, Lori replied, "The best thing that we can do for Lynn right now is to give her some space for the time being." With a mildly rattled expression, Lori added as she gently rubbed her stomach, "A _lot_ of space."

"But I sleep in the same room as Lynn," Lucy pointed out.

Snapping her fingers, Lori remarked, "Oh shoot, I forgot about that."

As the Loud sisters proceeded to brainstorm ideas on what to do for Lucy, Lincoln had an idea; he, as well as his friends Clyde, Rusty, Liam and Zach, had an overnight thing planned at Rusty's place. As such, this would leave Lincoln's room available, meaning that Lucy could potentially use it while Lynn was given space to cool off. Alternatively, since the overnight thing was going on over at Rusty's, Lincoln could look into arranging to bring Lucy with him, mostly because Lucy and Rusty's younger brother Rocky managed to hit it off. However, there was one major problem with both plans.

Lincoln was still rather resentful towards Lucy for the role that she played.

"There's the couch in the living room, isn't there?" Lincoln suggested, getting the girls in the room to turn to face his direction.

"…Yeah," Lori began, her tone mildly subdued, "But…but it's a couch."

Getting up from where he sat on the floor, Lincoln said in a more or less indifferent tone as he dusted himself off with his hands, "Well I don't see any other alternatives." Turning to leave, the white-haired boy said, "Now then, if you all will excuse me, I need to get ready to head over to Rusty's place. He's got this new video game that he's really eager to show off to me and the rest of the guys." Before any of the Loud girls in the room could get a word in edgewise, their only brother had left the room.

Lori and the others sat in awkward silence, realizing not only was Lynn upset with what happened at her game earlier in the day, but that Lincoln was still upset with most of them for what they collectively did to him. Even Luan and Lily, the only sisters to have reconciled with Lincoln, felt uncomfortable.

"…We really did a number to him," Luna remarked in a somber tone to the rest of the sisters as a whole, "Didn't we?"

"As if things weren't difficult enough for us already," Lola remarked, sounding just as guilty as her musically inclined older sister. The other sisters looked around guiltily. Lucy especially, since her older brother more or less didn't care that she was effectively lacking a proper bed to sleep in that night.

Given what she contributed to, Lucy felt she had this coming.

* * *

The following morning at Rusty's place, Lincoln and his friends were all having breakfast in the kitchen area, while Rusty's younger brother Rocky was having a bowl of cereal out in the living room. "Wow, what happened to that older sister of yours sounds pretty harsh," Zach remarked in a concerned tone as he pointed to Lincoln, "No girl should have to go through something like that if you ask me."

"Well that goes without saying, Zach," Rusty commented, "Why, I'm half-tempted to go out and find that jerk and give him a piece of my mind. After all, it was thanks to Lincoln's sister Lynn that I met Polly."

As his friends talked about what he had told them about Lynn getting her heart broken, Lincoln was surprised to find that they were as concerned for Lynn as they were, given that Clyde only ever sees Lynn when he swings by to hang out with him (Lincoln), Rusty only ever saw Lynn the time that he was introduced to the aforementioned Polly, and both Zach and Liam never actually even _met_ Lynn. Lincoln's friends were rather empathetic towards Lynn, especially since the boys as a whole were hardly familiar with her.

"Lynn will bounce back within short order," Lincoln remarked, getting his friends to all turn to face him. "I know this girl," the white-haired boy began to explain, "Lynn's not the kind of person who would let anything keep her down for too long." After eating a spoonful of cereal, Lincoln added, "She's just got way too much of an ego for that."

Lincoln's friends all considered what he had said before Clyde spoke up. "Lincoln's right about Lynn," Clyde remarked, "I've seen her enough times to know that she's a rather prideful girl." Nodding in agreement with Lincoln's assessment, Clyde said, "Lynn will be fine."

As the rest of the group began to relax, Lincoln began to think about how his sporty ex-sister was doing. Just as Clyde had said, Lynn was a rather prideful individual, and as such, it should not take too long for her to bounce back. Only, Lincoln noticed that Lynn was taking longer than he thought she should to recover from what happened at that baseball game.

Despite the fact that he was still resentful towards her for her part in what happened to him, Lincoln could not help himself but be worried about Lynn.

* * *

After the get together at Rusty's place was over, Lincoln was making his way back home. Clyde, wanting to ask more about what happened, decided to accompany the white-haired boy. "I still can't believe that something like that was going on for as long as it had been," Clyde remarked in a concerned tone as he and Lincoln walked and talked.

"I won't argue with that," Lincoln replied, "I mean, what Lynn is going through is something that I would never wish on her or any of the other girls, especially since-" The white-haired boy was cut off midsentence when he and Clyde heard something that caught their attention. Looking over, the two boys saw that Lynn standing under a tree, with a baseball helmet sitting on the ground. Lynn was repeatedly bashing the helmet with a baseball bat.

"Stupid baseball!" Lincoln and Clyde could hear Lynn saying angrily as she started causing damage to the baseball helmet, "Stupid cheating! Stupid Francisco!" With increased speed and fury, the sporty Loud sister exclaimed as her efforts began to break the baseball helmet into pieces, "STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!" After she smashed the baseball helmet into oblivion, the sporty Loud sibling breathed hard in exhaustion. As Lynn was catching her breath, Lincoln and Clyde came walking over.

"Lynn, are you okay?" Lincoln asked in a clearly concerned tone, getting Lynn's attention in the process, "Why would you break a baseball helmet like that?"

"L-Lincoln?" Lynn said in a surprised tone, surprised because she didn't think her younger brother would even want to be talking to her right now, and for good reason. Her surprised expression morphing into one that was a mix of resignation and heartbreak, Lynn said, "I…I can't do it anymore. I just can't do baseball."

"You're giving up on one of your sports?" Clyde asked, more than a hint of surprise seeping into the African American child's voice.

Nodding her head a few times in bitter confirmation, the sporty Loud sister remarked in a resigned tone, "After what happened at the game yesterday, after what…what _he_ did…I just can't do baseball anymore."

"…" Giving his sporty ex-sister a serious look, Lincoln said, "Lynn, seriously. If there's anything you need right now, give me a holler, alright?"

Lynn was nothing short of shocked to hear Lincoln's offer. She knew full well what she and the other Loud sisters had done to him. Lynn also knew full well that all of that messy business was started because of something SHE did, because SHE couldn't take the idea that she could be at fault for losing in a sports game. As far as she was concerned, Lynn felt that she had no right to receive any sympathy from her younger brother.

…And yet here Lincoln was, still upset with her but nonetheless offering her a shoulder to-

"GAHHHH!" Lynn cried out, more out of surprise than anything else when she felt something hit her in the back before landing in the grass behind her, prompting her to turn around to see what it was. "Huh?" Lynn remarked in mild confusion as she found a football laying in the grass. Picking the football up, Lynn said in a more or less casual tone, "Huh, so this is what hit me." Rolling the football around in her hands, Lynn remarked, "I wonder where this-"

"Hey, can I get my football back?" Lynn and the two boys heard someone call out, prompting them to look over and see a boy come running over to them. Roughly the same height as Luan, this boy had long and somewhat wild-looking black hair. He wore a light brown long-sleeved shirt (its sleeve ends hung loosely around the wrists, rather than cling tightly to them) under a somewhat baggy t-shirt that resembled the Swedish flag, a loose-fitting pair of cargo pants held up with a belt, and brown boots. Around the boy's neck was a necklace that had three bear claws as charms. The boy was also noticeably, but not excessively, strong of body; that, plus his bear claw necklace and his long and wild black hair gave him the look of a wild warrior from a northern land of snow and cold.

"Hey, are you okay?" the boy asked as he pointed to Lynn, who was holding the football that he was seeking.

Lynn, having gotten a good look at this boy, stood there as if caught in a trance. Seeing that his friend's older sister wasn't moving, Clyde waved a hand in front of Lynn's face. Turning to face the boy that came up to them, Clyde said, "You're going to have to forgive her. You see, she's going through a rough patch right now."

"I notice that she must have been crying," the boy remarked as he pointed to Lynn, "I assume that someone did something to upset her a lot?" Lincoln proceeded to explain to the boy what had happened, being careful not to mention Francisco by name lest he make Lynn even more upset than she was already. "…I see," the boy replied in an understanding tone, "I know very little if anything about baseball, but I would be of a similar disposition as your sister if something like that occurred on the gridiron."

"Totally!" Lynn suddenly exclaimed, sounding as if she had suddenly gotten over what had made her upset, "In fact, my football team is looking for a new strong safety, and you look like you'd be perfect for the position! What's your name?"

Caught off guard somewhat by Lynn's sudden recovery, the boy replied, "My name is Ulfric Aesir. My parents and I very recently moved here from Sweden."

"Well that certainly explains why I haven't seen you around here before," Lynn continued, a hint of eagerness in her tone, "Are you going to Royal Woods Middle School?"

"I start tomorrow," Ulfric replied, "Why? Do you go there as well?"

"Totally," Lynn answered as her small smile started to slowly but surely grow, "Where should we meet up after classes tomorrow so I can take you over to the football field for practice?"

"How about by the library?" Ulfric suggested, "It's one of the few places at the Middle School that I know where to locate without someone escorting me there."

"Fair enough," Lynn replied, "Is there anything else?"

Pointing to Lynn, Ulfric said, "I'd like to get my football back now, please." Noticing that she was still holding Ulfric's football, Lynn blushed and chuckled in an embarrassed manner as she handed the football over to Ulfric. "Well then, I suppose that I shall be seeing you later," Ulfric remarked, "As I gave you my name, can I get yours before I go?"

"Lynn Loud," replied the sporty Loud sibling.

With something of a small smile, Ulfric replied, "Well then, Lynn Loud, I look forward to playing some football with you." Turning around, Ulfric said as he walked off while he raised a hand, "Take care."

After Ulfric was gone, Lincoln said, "Well I'll be, Lynn. It looks like finding a potential new member for the football team that you belong helped to get you out of your depression." After a few seconds of not getting a response from Lynn, Lincoln leaned forward slightly and turned his head so that he could see his sporty ex-sister's face.

Recognizing the look of being love-struck on Lynn's face, Lincoln turned to face Clyde. "Well what do you know, Clyde?" Lincoln remarked dryly, "I think that Lynn might be broken."

"I think you're right, dude," Clyde agreed when he got a look at Lynn's expression.

* * *

Later the following evening over at the Loud residence, Lincoln was helping his ex-sisters Leni, Luna, Lucy and Lana with setting up the table for dinner. As the five of them got the table ready, Lincoln had brought up how Lynn had seemingly found a new crush. "He sounds like a solid dude from what you told the rest of us," Luna said to Lincoln as they straightened out the chairs at the table, some of which were seated at somewhat crooked angles.

"Yeah, and from what you said about him not liking cheating in football, I'm certain that this Ulfric fellow won't go and-" Lana began, but she was cut off midsentence by some knocking that came from the front door.

"I'll get that," Lincoln replied as he left the dining room to go answer the door. When he did, the sole Loud boy was surprised to see Ulfric standing there.

"I apologize if I came at an inconvenient time," Ulfric greeted with a look of mild concern on his face, "But something rather troubling came up, and I want to go over it with Lynn. Is she available right now?" Before Lincoln could respond, Lynn happened to have walked by at the moment. Noticing that Ulfric was standing at the front door, she immediately came over.

"Ulfric! Hey!" Lynn greeted in a friendly tone, "Come on in!"

"We're about to have dinner, Lynn," Lucy pointed out to her older sister as she, Luna, Lana and Leni came out of the dining room.

"I just had something that I wished to ask Lynn about," the foreign-born boy remarked, "I'll try to keep my business here brief."

"You…you wanted to ask me about something?" Lynn said, a faint but steadily growing blush appearing across the sporty Loud sibling's face.

Nodding once in the affirmative, Ulfric began, "Do you remember how, during football practice earlier today, the football that we were using wasn't inflated properly?"

Her expression dropping somewhat (she was hoping that Ulfric was going to confess that he had a crush on her), Lynn replied, "Oh yeah. The football incident from earlier." Straightening up somewhat, Lynn asked, "What about it?"

"Let's say, in a hypothetical situation, that the football was like that on purpose," Ulfric began, "For the supposed purpose of making it easier to grip." With a concerned yet serious look on his face, the foreign-born boy asked, "Is this a good thing, yes or no?"

"What?!" Lynn exclaimed, "Of course that's not a good thing! That's not a good thing at all! It's a form of cheating!"

"…As I suspected," Ulfric remarked as he looked to the floor, holding his left hand over his chin as he put his right hand on his waist. Looking back up to Lynn, Ulfric continued, "Since that's the case, then I'm afraid that I discovered that some of the members of the football team that we belong to are trying to use the apparent method of cheating that I just described."

A look of complete disbelief spreading across her face, Lynn held a hand to her forehead as she looked down at the floor in shock. "I…I can't believe this," Lynn said, "Members of one of the sports teams that I belong to are trying to cheat. This can't be real."

"Little dude, what happened exactly?" Luna asked when she turned to look at Ulfric, prompting him to explain what had happened; apparently during football practice earlier that day, Ulfric noticed that the football that they were using wasn't properly inflated, so he brought this to the coach's attention. Later, when Ulfric was alone in the boys' locker room, two other boys on the team confronted him about pointing out the football's problem. Apparently, some of the boys on the team were using the improperly inflated football gambit in an attempt to rack up some wins for their team.

Ulfric said that the two boys attempted to 'haze' him as a sort-of welcome to the team (Ulfric confessed he had no idea what 'haze' in this regard means) via shoving him from behind in the back, but their hazing failed when Ulfric turned to face them; both boys in question were a good few inches shorter than Ulfric, and neither of them were anywhere near as well-conditioned as him (they were thin whereas Ulfric had muscle). Ulfric also mentioned that he was under the implication that the two boys were trying to threaten him into keeping quiet about their gambit with the improperly inflated football.

"As the coach had left prior to the conflict," Ulfric said to Lynn and the others as he finished his tale, "I decided that informing Lynn about this in the hopes that we can bring it to the coach's attention tomorrow was the best course of action."

Sniffling a little bit, Lynn said, "Ulfric."

"Hmm?" Ulfric replied in a tone of mildly piqued interest as he turned to face the sporty Loud sibling. Although she looked like she was going to start crying at any moment, Lynn was smiling, as if someone had just done something really nice for her.

"Thanks," was all that Lynn said.

"…I am confused," Ulfric admitted in a mildly lost tone, "What are you thanking me for?"

"Baseball is kind of spoiled for me at the moment because this total jerk ruined it for me," Lynn explained as she was putting in a bit of effort not to cry, "If it hadn't been for you telling me about what happened and asking me to help bring it to the coach's attention, then football would have been ruined for me, too. I'm not sure if I would have been able to stick with sports as a whole if football was ruined for me like baseball was."

With a wry look of mild amusement on his face, Ulfric replied, "Well I'm glad to see that unlike some of the guys on our team, you actually take football seriously. Well anywho, I ought to be taking my leave now. See you tomorrow."

After the foreign-born boy had left, Lynn closed the door and turned around to face her siblings. "So, sis," Lana remarked with a sly look, "When are you going to make your move on him?"

"I don't know!" Lynn exclaimed in embarrassment, which was further highlighted by the blushing on her face. As Lynn blushed, her sisters that were present began to laugh. Lincoln didn't laugh, but he was still nonetheless relieved to see that his sporty ex-sister was finally bouncing back after the devastating blow that she suffered. Granted, the white-haired boy was still rather upset with Lynn for her role in the aforementioned bad luck nonsense, especially since if it wasn't for Lynn forcing him to go to that one game of hers, then that hot mess wouldn't have happened in the first place.

…But if Bobby can be a good influence on Lori, then who's to say that this Ulfric fellow can't be the same for Lynn? Lincoln, right when he had first returned to Royal Woods after his extended stay over in Great Lakes City, felt that if there was one person in the Loud family that he would never be able to reconcile with, it would have been Lynn.

…But with Ulfric keeping an eye on the sporty Loud sister, Lincoln may eventually be able to reconcile with her after all.

* * *

The following evening over at the Loud residence, Lynn was sitting in the living room with Lincoln, Lori, Luan, Lola and Lisa as they all watched TV. Now normally, the oldest half of the group would have occupied the sofa while the youngest half sat on the floor. However, Lynn decided to give her seat up to Lincoln. Although surprised by Lynn's actions here, the white-haired boy nonetheless accepted.

"Hey Lynn, I heard that the football team that you belong to can't play in the next three games that it was slated to play," Luan remarked as the show she and the others were watching went to commercial, "Are you okay about that?"

"Well yeah," Lynn replied in a casual tone, "Of course I'm upset that my team can't play." After Lynn and Ulfric had brought the cheating on the football team to the coach's attention, the coach did a thorough investigation on the matter and discovered that half of the team was in on it while the other half had no idea what was going on. The coach ended up kicking the cheating half off of the team entirely, even having the two boys that tried to threaten Ulfric suspended (they were both identified by Ulfric).

However, due to the severe cuts that were made to the team, the RWMS football team had to surrender the next three games that they were slated to play, as they needed more time to get and train new (honest) players. However, everyone that was still on the team were all in agreement on how not being able to play with a clean team was a better alternative than playing with one that was cheating.

A few seconds after admitting to being upset about not being able to play, Lynn added, "But I would have been even more upset if I did play but I discovered that my team had been cheating during the game. Never let it be said that I'd be okay with one of my sports teams winning a game because we broke the rules."

"So…" Lori began in a curious tone, "…You're good?"

With a bit of a chuckle, Lynn said, "Yeah, Lori, I'm go-" before Lynn could finish, she was cut off when there was a knocking at the door.

"Allow me to get that, my sibling units," Lisa said as she got up and went over to answer the door. A few seconds after she opened the front door, the brainy Loud sibling called out, "Hey Lynn! There's some boy at the door asking for you! He looks like a barbarian movie reject from the nineteen-eighties!"

"Barbarian movie reject?" Ulfric's familiar voice replied, two parts offended and eight parts confused.

"Dang it, Lisa!" Lynn swore under her breath as she got up quickly and ran over to the door, seeing Ulfric standing there. "Ulfric, I am so sorry about my little sister here," Lynn said as she not-so-gently shoved Lisa out to the living room. Returning to the front door, Lynn asked, "So anyway, what brings you by?"

In response, Ulfric held up a small shopping bag from a foreign food store. "As you are the first person who I met since moving here to the states that treated me with kindness, I felt as if I should get you a little something as thanks," The foreign-born boy explained, "Some girl with a long brown ponytail that randomly ran into me suggested that I get you some chocolate."

"Did he say chocolate?" Lori said as she quickly came running over with the other sisters who were watching TV with Lynn. Lincoln, with a bemused look on his face didn't even bother to try and argue with what the girls were doing; after all, they were all chocoholics, so the mere mention of that more desired confection will prompt the girls to all drop what they were doing and rush over. Even though he was still upset with most of them, the white-haired boy wasn't going to hold this against them.

"Umm, it's meant for Lynn," Ulfric replied in a mildly confused tone as he saw the eager looks on the faces of the other girls, "I'm sorry if-" Stopping short upon seeing Luan, Ulfric pointed to her and said, "Hey, you're the girl who gave me the idea about getting chocolate for Lynn as a way of saying thanks."

"Oh, that's my older sister Luan," Lynn explained to Ulfric as she gestured to the comedic Loud sibling.

Regarding Lynn's sisters and Lincoln, Ulfric turned to face Lynn. "You certainly have a rather large family, Lynn," the foreign-born boy said. Hearing Ulfric say this, Lynn could not help but chuckle a little.

"This is only half of my siblings," Lynn remarked.

His eyes widening somewhat out of shock due to what Lynn had just told him, Ulfric merely said in a shocked tone, "…Impressive." Ulfric's response only served to make the sporty Loud sister laugh even louder and harder.

As the other Loud siblings who were present were watching this, Luan turned to face Lincoln, Lori, Lola and Lisa. Discreetly pointing to Ulfric, Luan said to Lincoln and the others, "That boy's there is a keeper."

* * *

Later that week on Friday, Lincoln was lying in his bed, having gotten rather sick. As the white-haired boy was trying to rest, he heard a knocking at his bedroom door. Lincoln weakly called out for whoever it was to enter, and as such Lori came walking in, carrying some medicine and a glass of water for Lincoln.

"Hey Lori," Lincoln greeted weakly, his ill voice making his speech sound a little slurred. Slowly trying to get out of bed, Lincoln asked, "Is there anything that you need me for?" Lincoln would have continued trying to get up, but his oldest ex-sister, setting the glass of water and medicine on Lincoln's dresser, walked over to Lincoln and gently pushed down on his right shoulder, forcing him back down into bed.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to ask that you lay back down in bed and stay there," Lori replied in as gentle of a tone as Lincoln ever recalled her using; the last time that Lincoln remembered hearing Lori use a tone that gentle was when she had held him in her arms after he was found lying passed out on the sidewalk outside of the apartment building slash bodega store where the Casagrandes lived in Great Lakes City. When the white-haired boy was back to laying down in his bed, Lori continued, "Anyway, mom and dad are going to be heading out soon for a date night. That being said, I'm going to be left in charge again."

"I'll be down stairs standing at attention with the girls, then," Lincoln replied dryly as he tried once again to get up out of bed, only for Lori to gently force him back down.

"Yeah, I'm literally going to be excusing you from doing that," the oldest Loud sibling replied in a sympathetic tone, "Lin-"

"Wow," Lincoln replied in a bitter tone, interrupting Lori in the process, "I never would have expected you to go easy on any of us when your parents are out and you're left in charge. Despite everything that he had done to keep Lori's relationship with Bobby stable, despite the kindness that Lori was showing him right now, the white-haired boy was still rather upset with the oldest of his ex-sisters. It would take a lot more than simple kindness from Lori before Lincoln would consider reconciling with her. Realizing what her younger brother was implying, Lori literally could not blame him.

Sighing in a mildly defeated tone, Lori said, "I know what I usually do when I'm left in charge is literally bogus, Lincoln. And that's part of why I'm here." Lincoln, his curiosity piqued by that last part, decided to hear Lori out. "I want to try and change things up a bit while I'm in charge," Lori began to explain, "The time back when you and all of the girls took control from me when mom and dad left me in charge got me thinking that there's got to be a better way I can keep everyone from literally bring the place down around us while still maintaining control."

"And you're telling me this because…" Lincoln replied, expecting to be filled in.

"Because I was hoping that you'd have an idea," Lori explained, "You're usually good with coming up with ideas, so I was hoping you'd be willing to help me out on this one." Lincoln was actually rather surprised with what Lori was saying; _she_ wanted _his_ help on something? Wow, that isn't something that one sees every day.

Regardless, the white-haired boy figured that he might as well give this a shot, so he gave some serious consideration to what Lori was asking, trying to think of something that would help her keep his other ex-sisters, as well as Luan (Lily was put down for a nap earlier so she wasn't going to get involved) occupied. After about half a minute or so, Lincoln came up with an idea that he thought would be pretty good. "How about you and the other girls do a game night tonight?" Lincoln suggested.

Lori, with a mildly surprised look that had a hint of confusion on her face, looked back at her younger brother. "Game night?" the oldest Loud sibling repeated in a confused tone.

"Game night," Lincoln repeated as he proceeded to explain what he was getting at, "You and the other girls can all get together in the living room and play some game until Mr. and Mrs. Loud get back from their game night."

"But all of the board games that we own aren't made with close to eleven people in mind," Lori pointed out, "Also, you know how Lynn gets when it comes to playing. In fact, I'd say she's slightly worse than normal due to her football team having to miss a few games." Lincoln had to give Lori credit on the bit about Lynn; the sporty Loud sister was rather notorious for wanting to win all the time, and the part about Lynn's football team having to miss a few games was also a very valid point.

"Then why don't you try truth or dare?" Lincoln suggested, "It's not a win-or-lose game so you don't have to worry about Lynn, all you need is an empty glass soda bottle to spin on the floor so there's very little setup required, and you can accommodate as many players as needed."

Considering Lincoln's idea, Lori replied, "…Hey, that isn't a bad idea at all." Ruffling the top of her younger brother's head lightly, Lori said in a gentle tone, "Thanks for the idea, Lincoln." Lori had Lincoln take the medicine that she had brought him before she left his room to go find an empty glass soda bottle to use for the game.

…

The rest of the night went as smoothly as it could for Lincoln, all things considered. At one point, when he left his room to go use the bathroom, Lincoln had to hold a hand against the wall to steady himself as he felt a wave of nausea go over him. Lincoln threw up about one second later. A few seconds after that, Lori came up the stairs to see what had happened.

"Yeesh!" Lori remarked as she saw the mess, "Geez, Lincoln, maybe it was a good thing you missed dinner. This mess you made would have been bigger." Lori then went back downstairs, presumably to look in to gathering the gear that would be needed to clean up Lincoln's puke. It made the white-haired boy feel a little guilty, but all thoughts of that fled Lincoln's mind when Luan appeared, wearing a medical mask and carrying some cleaning supplies.

"Luan?" Lincoln said in a mildly confused tone, "What are you doing here?"

"We all heard you throw up while we were downstairs playing truth or dare," Luan began to explain, "It was Luna's turn, and the bottle landed on me. I picked dare, and Luna was going to dare me to do something, but that's when we all heard you puke." Holding up the cleaning supplies, Luan continued, "Luna decided to dare me to clean up your puke." After his older sister finished explaining herself, Lincoln sighed in a resigned tone.

"Luna actually dared you to do that?" Lincoln asked, a dry, unamused look on his face.

Concerned to see that her little brother looked annoyed, Luan said, "Well, I did pick dare, and I guess the opportunity was just too good for Luna to pass up." Still feeling a little nauseous but now also feeling a bit annoyed ("_Really_, _Luna_?" Lincoln thought in an annoyed tone), Lincoln went to the bathroom while Luan cleaned up the puke. When he came back out, Luan was gone, having finished her job. Lincoln went back to his room and slept for the rest of the night.

* * *

The following morning, Lincoln was in the dining room, sitting at the table as he ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Although he was feeling somewhat better, Lincoln was still a little sick; he was intending on heading straight back up to bed after he finished eating. While Lincoln sat the table, Lori walked into the dining room, holding a mug of freshly brewed coffee. "Hey, Lincoln," Lori greeted in a casual, friendly tone, "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little," the white-haired boy replied in a tired tone, "Although I'm planning on heading back to bed when I'm done eating."

"Fair enough," Lori said as she sat down at the table herself.

"So Lori, how did truth or dare with the girls go last night?" Lincoln asked as Lori took a sip of her coffee.

Sitting her mug of coffee down, Lori replied, "We actually had quite a bit of fun playing truth or dare, and we're considering doing it again the next time that mom and dad have a date night and leave me in charge. Leni even says she's looking forward to you participating." Reaching forward to ruffle the top of Lincoln's head, the oldest Loud sibling said said, "Thanks again for the idea, Lincoln. It really came in handy with keeping a lid on things."

With a tired smile, Lincoln replied, "Oh, it's no biggie, Lori." After he finished his bowl of cereal, Lincoln put his dishes in the sink. After coming back from doing that, Lincoln continued, "So Lori, are there any highlights from last night's game?"

With an amused smile on her face, Lori began, "Well, the first thing is that Leni and Lana both like peanut butter and sauerkraut sandwiches now…"

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER SEVEN

Author's note:

This is probably the third version or so of the first and third parts of the one-shot collection that I've done, fourth if one counts the versions that Lori spoke of with Bobby and Carlota in that one scene from 'New War'. But then again, since I'm cleaning things up and changing the order that things happen in, I suppose that I should have seen something like this coming. It'll be kind of interesting to see where things will end up going from here. Anyway, the next chapter will see Lori go through some familiar development; the same applies to Lisa.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter eight: Familiar Development

Lincoln Loud was working on some homework one day after he and some of his ex-sisters got home from RWES. Even with the amount of school that he had missed due to having run away to Great Lakes City a while ago, his homework this day actually provided the white-haired boy with very little challenge, if any at all. Having finished the last of his homework, which was a ten-question bit concerning American history in the early half of the 1940's, Lincoln put all of his stuff into his backpack. As they were also working on their own homework at the table, Lucy and the twins Lola and Lana saw that their older brother had finished before any of them.

"Wow, Lincoln," Lana remarked in an impressed tone, "You certainly breezed through that."

"I think that Lisa once said something about why one of the reasons she seldom ever helps Lincoln with his schoolwork is because she believes that he's more than capable of doing his homework on his own," Lucy said.

"Huh," Lola remarked in a mildly bemused tone, "Lisa admitted that she isn't the only smart person in the house. Who would have guessed _that_ would have ever happened?"

"Girls, lay off of Lisa," Lincoln remarked, his tone carrying a very mild amount of sternness that was mixed with a dash of finding some amount of humor in how the younger girls were acting. After he zipped his backpack closed, the white-haired boy began to say in an attempt to make conversation, "So girls, I don't suppose that any of you know why Lori went through all of that trouble to borrow that specific golf club from that Allison girl at her school?"

"Are you talking about Argent's older sister Allison?" Lucy asked, mentioning her and Rocky's friend Argent Ace; if what Lucy is implying is true, then Argent is apparently related to some girl named Allison. After Lincoln nodded in the affirmative to answer Lucy's question, the gothic Loud girl replied, "I wasn't paying too much attention to what Lori was talking about since she was going on about stuff related to the varsity golf team that she belongs to, but I believe that Lori said something about believing that particular golf club to be lucky."

"…Lucky, you say?" Lincoln repeated in a mildly unamused deadpan; due to the reason concerning _why _he ran away to Great Lakes City a while ago, the white-haired boy was not in any mood to deal with or listen about anything having to do with any sort or amount of luck, good or otherwise.

With an indifferent shrug, Lucy said as she gently shook her head, "I personally don't see what the big deal is. From what I saw, it looked like just a plain old four-iron golf club with a dark reddish-brown handle. Nothing too fancy or whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if Lori had a similar golf club of her own."

"It must be some sort of golf thing," Lana stated, "And since it's a golf thing, I say that we should leave that kind of business to Lori and dad." With a bit of a chuckle, the tomboyish Loud twin added, "I still think it's kind of funny how Lori's better at golf than dad, even though he was the one who introduced Lori to the game."

Really, now? Mr. Loud has been surpassed in something that he introduced one of his kids to? Lincoln wondered how his ex-father felt about that. But it was another subject for another time. Gathering what little stuff he had with him, Lincoln remarked in a cool yet neutral tone, "Well then, if that's the case, then Mr. Loud really needs to improve his game." Hearing their older brother refer to their dad as 'Mr. Loud', rather than as his and their dad, made the three younger girls sitting at the table feel regret.

"…Lincoln," Lola began, her nervous tone clearly carrying a hint of regret, "I know that you're still really-" The pageant-winning Loud sister found herself cutoff midsentence when a phone that was lying on the table went off, indicating that a call was coming in. The phone's ringing caught the attention of Lincoln and his ex-sisters that were at the table, especially considering that it was _Lori_'_s_ phone.

"Nobody move," Lana said, sounding as if she and her siblings that were present were dealing with a bomb that they had to diffuse, "If we go anywhere near that, Lori will turn all of us into human pretzels!" One couldn't blame Lana and the present Loud sisters for freaking out; after all, their oldest sister did have a reputation of threatening the other Loud siblings into staying away from her stuff. As a matter of fact, touching Lori's phone was a particularly bad offence as far as the oldest Loud sibling was concerned; a prank that Luan pulled this one time ended up teaching that lesson to the comedic Loud sister the _hard_ way.

While the younger Loud girls were alarmed by Lori's phone going off and fearing what would happen to them if any of them were to touch it, Lincoln just stared at it. When the girls first started to freak, Lincoln's hardened persona from Great Lakes City at first made Lincoln bitter and uncaring about any potential punishment that Lori could have inflicted on him; in fact, if Lori actually tried anything at all, Lincoln was thinking of doing to her what he did to Chandler and Ross, that being exude his Killing Intent to make her back off.

Then Lincoln remembered the dream he had a few nights ago. The dream where he killed Lori.

Regardless of how he felt on any matter, Lori's phone going off was going to be a distraction. Hoping that his having recently returned home will allow him some leeway, Lincoln grabbed Lori's phone and got up from the table. "I'm going to bring this to her," Lincoln remarked as he held the still-ringing phone.

The present Loud girls, seeing their brother holding that which no one is ever allowed to touch, instantly became alarmed. "No, don't do it!" Lola practically exclaimed, very clearly fearing for her older brother's safety.

"Lola's right, Lincoln," Lana said, "Lori is totally going to destroy you if she sees you holding her phone!"

Lincoln, as he proceeded to leave the dining room to head up to Lori and Leni's room, simply replied, "I don't think it will be that bad."

* * *

Lori was laying on her bed in her and Leni's room, having just returned from RWHS. The previous Saturday, she and the rest of the varsity golf team at her school played against the varsity golf team of a rival school. Lori's team won the game rather handily, especially since Lori played a flawless game, scoring only holes-in-one the entire day. The oldest Loud sibling _still_ literally couldn't believe that she played a flawless game, something that she heard hardly ever occurred, even for the best of golf players in the world; was the four-iron golf club that Lori borrowed from Allison Ace, a fellow RWHS student who Lori and her friends on the golf team have been trying to recruit for quite some time because she always scored only holes-in-one whenever she was convinced to join them for a game, really that lucky? Since it was literally the only golf club that Lori used that day, she was beginning to think so. As the oldest Loud sibling contemplated this idea, there was a knock at the door, with a bit of what Lori thought sounded like a ringing phone. "Who is it?" Lori called out.

"It's me," Lincoln's voice called out in response from behind the bedroom door. About a second later, the bedroom door opened, revealing the white-haired boy standing there while he was holding Lori's ringing smartphone. "You left your phone on the table," Lincoln explained as he walked into the room to hand over Lori's phone, "It went off while I was finishing up the last of my homework, so I figured that I'd bring it to you."

Right away, Lori instinctively felt annoyed that one of her siblings was touching one of her belongings without her permission, even more so because Lori's possession in question was her much beloved phone. However, the oldest Loud sibling stopped herself short because the sibling in question is Lincoln; due to her part in driving Lincoln away in the first place, Lori was already on thin ice with her little brother.

That status of being on thin ice with Lincoln was two-part; the first part that, back in Great Lakes City after Lincoln was found lying passed out on the sidewalk outside then sub sequentially brought into the Casagrande family's apartment, when Bobby questioned Lincoln about why he ran away, Lincoln withheld any and all information that might have prompted the Santiago teen to break up with Lori. Her in-tact relationship with her Boo-Boo Bear was a miracle that Lori feared her younger brother might very well revoke if he's given sufficient reason to do so.

The second part is that, shortly after a birthday party that was hosted at Odin-Dono's for a friend of Ronnie Anne's, Bobby told Lori (in confidence) that Lincoln told him and his friend Aggro about the dream that he (Lincoln) had, the one supposedly about a Scottish girl and her arsonist pet bunny. As it turned out, that dream of Lincoln's was actually about him killing her (Lori) in cold blood. While Lincoln was missing in Great Lakes City, some of the Loud sisters feared that their only brother was mad enough so that he'd want to kill at least one of them; Lori, upon being told the truth about that dream of Lincoln's, felt that the aforementioned fears of her younger sisters might actually have some claims of legitimacy.

Carefully and while taking a breath to steady herself, Lori caught herself before she accidentally blew her lid at Lincoln, lest she do something that might come back to bite her in the rear later. "Thank you, Lincoln," the oldest Loud sister said in a gentle and appreciative tone as she held her hand out to receive her smartphone, "I literally have to put it back on its charger soon anyway. I'll do that when I'm done with the call."

"You might want to also consider adding apologizing to the girls to your to-do list," Lincoln added as he handed Lori's smartphone over to her.

Lori, with a confused and mildly curious look on her face, repeated, "Apologize?"

"Lucy and the twins were sitting with me at the table when your phone went off, given that they were doing their own homework as well," Lincoln began to explain, "The instant that your phone went off, they all acted like your phone was a bomb that they had to diffuse. Lana is even afraid that you'll inflict grievous bodily harm onto her and the others just because we were all near your phone when it went off."

"…Oh," Lori remarked, her subdued tone resonating with guilt. Looking like she had been humbled, the oldest Loud sister asked, "Umm, Lincoln, can you do me a favor and tell the girls that I'd like to talk to them when I'm done with my call? And by the girls I mean all nine of them, not just Lucy and the twins. I'd also like it if you joined the girls as well. Until then, could you let me take this call?"

"Alright," Lincoln replied, respecting Lori's request to take the call. Lincoln took his leave, closing the door behind him and leaving Lori alone. The white-haired boy was mildly confused by the humbled aura his oldest ex-sister was giving off, but he figured that it was related to guilt on Lori's part for her contribution to driving him to run away. Leaving Lori be, Lincoln made his way to his room to relax for a bit.

…

As it turned out, it was Allison who was calling Lori. The two girls talked for a bit, with Allison asking about how the golf game that took place the previous Saturday went, and then the two girls told one another that they would see each other later before Lori hung up. After she set her smartphone back into its charger, Lori laid out on her bed and just looked up at the ceiling, with a bit of a drained feeling washing over her.

The oldest Loud sibling was going over in her head how she very nearly blew her lid at Lincoln earlier, but had managed to catch herself before she did something that she would regret. Lori was also going over what Lincoln said in regards to some of the youngest of the Loud girls freaking out due to being in close proximity of her phone when it went off, especially what he said concerning Lana's fears.

The tomboyish Loud twin was already suffering from something of a problem when it came to her having nightmares, something that Lori knows full well since Lana, whenever she would wake up from a nightmare, would promptly seek Lori out for comfort, to tell her about the nightmare she had in hopes Lori would help make her feel better. But if what Lincoln said was true, then Lana may stop seeking her out upon waking from nightmares, mostly because Lori herself would _be_ one of Lana's nightmares.

It was a rather sobering thought for the oldest Loud sibling.

And it wasn't just Lana who had reason to fear her either, Lori realized as she sat up on her bed. Due to how she acted in the past, Lori had a very good reason to believe that _all_ of her siblings might be afraid of her. The oldest Loud sibling certainly hadn't given Lincoln and the girls any reason to think otherwise for the past…pfft, must have been _years_ at this point. Years since Lori first became the kind of girl that she is today, years since the day that she ceased to be that nerdy, awkward loser in her tween years.

Still, Lori knew what she had to do. She knew before she even did it that it was going to be a rather awkward affair, and Lori had no doubt that some of her siblings will be calling her out on being so damn late to the act. But it was, as far as Lori was able to tell, a really good step in the right direction.

The direction of repairing her relationship with her siblings.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

The ten youngest Loud kids collectively looked at their older sister as she stood in front of all of them, her head bowed in a display of apology. None of the girls, from Lily to Leni, could make heads or tails of what Lori was doing. Lincoln, the sole boy among the group, was curious as to what Lori had in mind, so he wanted to see where this was going.

"You're…sorry?" Luan asked, a curious and mildly confused look on her face, "What are you saying sorry for?"

"Everything," Lori replied as she spoke in a resigned, regretful tone, "Everything that I did over the past couple of years or so. All of the yelling at you, all of the threats, all of the using my status as oldest to get what I want, just…just all of it." The other Loud girls all exchanged mild looks of surprised confusion with each other. Lincoln himself was finding himself to be just as surprised as well; Lori was apologizing for _everything_?

"Does this include the time that you beat me with a loaf of bread when I thought that there wasn't any left and I told you as such?" Lynn asked, an eyebrow arched in suspicion.

"And the time that you blamed me for taking your lipstick when it was actually Lucy who took it because she was trying to make herself look pretty to impress Rocky?" Lola asked as she put her hands on her hips, her tone similar to the one that Lynn was using.

"And how the time that you sabotaged one of Leni's many attempts to get her driver's license?" Lucy added, her tone sounding rather accusing.

"Wait a minute, Lucy," Lincoln began, looking over to his gothic little sister as he was surprised to hear her say what she said, "How did you find out about that?"

"I have my sources," Lucy replied simply. Turning back to face Lori, Lucy continued, "But seriously. Are you also sorry for what I'm talking about?"

"And for kicking me out of that party you threw that one time?" Luan asked.

"And for still not getting me that dress?" Leni added.

"And for-" Luna began, but she was cut off before she could finish.

"YES!" Lori exclaimed, tears streaming down the sides of her face. Lincoln and the girls were all caught by surprise by Lori's sudden exclamation, which made them lean back as if they had all hit by a great force of wind that was pushing them back. "I'm sorry for everything that I did!" Lori continued, "For trying to keep driving privileges to myself, for all of the human pretzel threats, for being way too hard about no one going into my room even though it's not _just_ my room!" The oldest Loud sibling then fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands as she started to cry. "I'm just sorry!" Lori sobbed.

If the other Loud siblings were surprised by Lori suddenly apologizing for how mean she was to them over the past few years, then they were blown out of the water entirely by Lori breaking down and crying in front of them. Even so, some of the more vindictive of the sisters weren't going to let Lori off the hook so easily. "Well, Lori," Luna began in a mildly bitter tone, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke, "Given a lot of what you've done to the rest of us over the years, I don't think that-" Luna was interrupted when she, Lori and the other Loud girls all heard someone clap in applause. Turning their heads in the appropriate direction, the girls saw that it was Lincoln who was applauding.

His expression showing that he was mildly but pleasantly surprised, Lincoln said, "This is a step in the right direction, Lori. Granted, this on its own isn't going to be enough to make up for _everything_, but it's as good of a start as you can make. Not bad." The sisters aside from Lori were forced to take pause; some of them, especially the more belligerent ones, were ready to tear Lori a new one for her past actions against them. But since their brother, who is arguably the one with the most reason to be upset with Lori, was applauding her, the other sisters felt that they couldn't continue with what they had planned.

The other sisters aside from Lori, having been humbled by Lincoln's actions, all said various bits to Lori that went along the lines of 'try to be careful next time', then they all dispersed throughout the house to do their own thing. As he went up the stairs, Lincoln was met up by Lola, Lana, Lucy and Lisa. "You seriously gave Lori a thumbs-up for that?" Lola asked, a look of mild curiosity on her face.

Nodding a bit in the affirmative, Lincoln explained to his younger ex-sisters as a whole, "I could tell that Lori was being sincere. I believe that we all ought to give her a chance to prove that she's sorry for how she's acted."

"Does that mean you're okay with Lori again?" Lana asked, a curious look on her face.

With a gentle headshake, Lincoln replied, "Heh. Sorry, but that's a no, Lana. Remember that I said that Lori's apology on its own isn't going to be enough to make up for _everything_." Turning around, Lincoln proceeded to head up the stairs, but he paused after getting a few steps away from the younger Loud sisters.

"…Even so," Lincoln added before he continued on his way, "It's still a pretty good start."

* * *

A few days later, Lincoln and his ex-sisters who attend RWES got home after school that day. As some of the sisters were taking their backpacks off, Lola noticed that Lisa hadn't immediately rushed up to her and Lily's room, something that the brainy Loud sister was normally known to do after arriving home from school. "Hey, Lisa," Lola began as she regarded her younger sister, "Don't you have some sort of science stuff to do in your room?"

"I do indeed have an experiment or two that I'm aiming to work on," Lisa began as she sat her backpack down, opened it, and pulled out a yearbook, "But that's beside the point." Flipping through the pages of the yearbook she had pulled out, Lisa eventually came to what she was looking for. "Aha, here we go," Lisa said. Looking up from her yearbook, Lisa asked Lincoln and the other girls, "Are any of you familiar with a Hugo Ashveil, who attends Royal Woods Elementary School with us?"

"I'm familiar with him," Lincoln replied to Lisa, getting all of the girls that were present to regard him. "Shortly before my 'extended vacation', I saw Ronnie Anne stop a second-grade boy from picking on a boy in Kindergarten," Lincoln explained, "The boy that Ronnie Anne saved from bullying was that Hugo kid that you're asking about." Giving his brainy ex-sister a curious look, the white-haired boy asked, "Why do you ask, Lisa? Isn't Hugo in your class? You ought to know him more than any of us."

"Logically, that would be a correct assumption to make," Lisa stated, "However, from what my friend Darcy has told me on the matter, that Hugo fellow…doesn't leave all that much of an impression on anyone. Basically, people often have trouble telling that Hugo's even there."

"Oh, sort of like how we occasionally have trouble telling if Lucy's here or not?" Lana asked as she raised a hand.

"Oh ha, ha," Lucy replied, her usual emotionless monotone carrying a hint of annoyance.

"That's…not exactly the point that I'm trying to make here, Lana," Lisa continued, "This Hugo boy is not only invisible to pretty much everyone else at school, but he seems to like things being that way, seems to like not having friends." Her face showing more than a hint of concern, the brainy Loud sibling said, "Hugo…kind of reminds me of how I used to be a while ago, and it has me concerned."

Lisa's older siblings couldn't believe what they were hearing out of her. Lisa, their stoic, near-immoral scientist of a sister, was not only sympathizing with someone in her class that she was hardly even aware of, but she actually wants to _help_ said person? With seemingly nothing for her to gain out of this? The twins and Lucy could only stare blankly Lisa, unable to properly form coherent thoughts. Lincoln, the sole boy among their number, was a different matter however.

At first, at the absolute beginning of Lisa confessing how she felt concern for that random boy in her class, the white-haired boy was a smidge ticked off. Lisa was showing this level of concern for someone she hardly even knew, yet back when all of that bad luck nonsense that drove him (Lincoln) to run away was going on, Lisa sided with the other sisters within quick order. From this, Lincoln couldn't help but draw the conclusion that, as far as Lisa was concerned, her own older brother had less priority than a complete and total stranger. Feh, some genius Lisa turned out to be. Lincoln was just about to state his thoughts on this matter to the supposed genius four-year-old, but he stopped himself short when he remembered something rather important.

Lisa, regardless of how smart she may be, is _still_ just a four-year-old child. Kids that age are still trying to learn all the odds and ends about what's right and what's wrong, and as such, their judgment doesn't tend to be the best in the world. That being said, Lincoln supposed that Lisa falling for the whole bad luck nonsense from a while ago might, to a certain extent, be excusable. Besides, with this display of empathy that she was showing, Lisa was showing that she's starting growing up, that she was staring to learn about all of those odds and ends. There's just something about seeing some of the very little people (i.e. young kids) in one's family grow up that makes one's heart swell with pride.

With a small but gentle smile, Lincoln walked up to Lisa, knelt down, and gently laid a hand on her head, giving her hair a bit of a ruffle. Speaking out loud, the white-haired boy remarked, "I'm glad to see that you're growing up, Lisa. Showing this level of empathy for others proves that you're beginning to mature more as a person." With a simple nod, Lincoln added, "I'm glad that I was around to see it happen."

"Umm…thanks," the genius four-year-old replied, taken back a bit by the words of praise from her older brother. Words of praise that made her feel a bit guilty for her part in driving said older brother to the point of running away a while ago. The brainy Loud sibling really wished that she had this level of empathy that Lincoln said she was showing, along with the appropriate level of foresight, to tell that what she and her sisters were doing would have ended up having the results that they ended up having. "Umm, Lincoln," Lisa began, sounding mildly nervous, "Can I also take some time here to-"

"You're still concerned about Hugo, right?" Lincoln asked, interrupting Lisa in the process. Standing up, Lincoln continued, "Then you, and maybe your friend Darcy if she's up for it, ought to invite Hugo to hang out with you. Hanging around with others who he can trust should do wonders with helping him break out of his shell." Lisa was a bit disappointed that she had been cut off before she was able to apologize, to act on the epiphany that she just had concerning how she contributed to her older brother's past suffering.

But still, if Lincoln himself was encouraging her to go through with trying to reach out to Hugo Ashveil, Lisa could not help but wonder…was Lincoln starting to ease up on her for her part in driving him away? The brainy Loud sibling knew full well that her maturation in this matter, on its own, wasn't going to be enough to let her reconcile with her older brother. But, as it was with Lori's apologetic display a few days ago, Lisa couldn't help but wonder if this was this a step in the right direction for her. "Seriously, Lisa," Lincoln continued, "I think that you should go for it. Extend an olive branch to Hugo the next time you see him."

"Why should Lisa give that Hugo kid an olive branch, Lincoln?" Lola asked.

"He was using a metaphor, sis," Lana explained in something of an unamused monotone, and with a matching expression.

* * *

The following day during recess over at RWES, Lincoln was hanging out with his friends Clyde and Rusty; Liam did something that got him detention during recess, and Zach ate something that gave him a mild allergic reaction so he had to go to the nurse's office. "So, dudes, it's like I have been saying this whole time," Rusty said as he was finishing up telling something that he was saying to Lincoln and Clyde, "If you want to get a girl to like you, then the first thing that you have to do is-"

"LINCOLN!" a panicked younger girl's voice cried out, cutting Rusty off midsentence. Within short order, Lincoln and his friends saw Lola come running up to them. "Lincoln, there are these three fifth-grade boys that are fighting Lana three-on-one!" Lola cried.

"WHAT?!" Lincoln exclaimed, clearly alarmed.

Nodding a few times, Lola continued, "Yeah. Those three fifth-grade boys were picking on some kid in Kindergarten, but Lana stepped in and told them to buzz off, and they got angry at her, and now they're fighting her!"

"Yeah, you stay right here, Lola" Lincoln instructed his pageant winning ex-sister; despite still not considering any of his elementary school-aged Loud girls as his sisters, the white-haired boy was not going to stand by while one of them gets beaten by three boys in his grade. Lincoln proceeded to head off in the direction that he and his friends saw Lola come running from, with Clyde and Rusty following him. Within short order, the three boys came to a scene that was happening on the playground, as a group of kids were crowded around whatever it was.

"Hey, Lana!" Lincoln called out, his tone showing he was ready to confront the older boys picking on the tomboyish Loud twin, "Are…you…huh?" Lincoln trailed off, and his tone changed to one of complete bafflement, as he and his friends saw the result of the fight where Lana took on three fifth-grade boys; Lana was standing there, a slight bruise on the side of her face but nothing more beyond that, dusting off her hands as Ross and his two goons laid on the ground behind her, all clearly beaten, unable to take anymore punishment. Did…did Lana, a girl in first grade, really just win a three-on-one fight against _fifth graders_?

Looking up, Lana said, "Oh, hey, Lincoln." Jerking a thumb over her shoulder, Lana said, "Yeah, these three jerks were being jerks, so I decided to set them straight." Lincoln, Clyde and Rusty once again looked over to where Ross and his two goons laid on the ground in defeat, then looked back to Lana.

"Lola…told me that these boys here were trying to bully a kid in Kindergarten," Lincoln began, his tone showing that he was very much surprised by the fact that three boys in his grade lost a fight on the playground to a lone first-grade girl, and that it was leaving him rather confused, "Is that true?"

"Oh yeah, that," Lana replied, "It was some boy that I didn't recognize." Pointing in the direction of the school building, Lana continued, "He ran off to the school building as soon as I started giving the three jerks behind me a lesson. I think that-"

"Hey Lana!" Lisa's familiar voice called out, cutting Lana off in the process and making her, Lincoln, Clyde and Rusty turn to see Lisa come running up, accompanied by her friend Darcy Helmandollar. "Lana, what is going on here?" Lisa asked.

"It's like I telling Lincoln and his friends just now, these three jerks were being jerks, so I set them straight," Lana replied as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder again. Looking over slightly, Lisa saw where Ross and his two goons were laying on the ground, with at least one of them just starting to pick themselves back up.

Turning back to her older sister, Lisa said in a tone of disbelief, "You beat up three boys that are in the fifth grade…by yourself."

"Hey Lisa, I'm just as surprised as you are," Lincoln remarked with a shrug, "Maybe all of that alligator wrestling that Lana has done is paying off for her."

"Your older sister wrestles alligators?" Darcy said to Lisa, then added in a concerned tone, "She doesn't wrestle cats, does she? Because I can't stand the idea of cats being hurt."

"Cats are nowhere near enough of a challenge for me," Lana remarked to Lisa's friend, "Don't worry, kid." After gently rubbing the slight bruise on her face, Lana said, "Well anywho, those three guys were bullying some Kindergarten boy, so I decided to step in." Pointing to the school building again, Lana said to Lisa and Darcy, "I saw that Kindergarten boy run into the school crying, if you're interested in trying to follow him."

"I suppose that Darcy and I checking on our fellow classmate would be logical, given the circumstances," Lisa replied. Turning to face Darcy, Lisa said, "I'm afraid that Hugo is going to have to wait, Darcy. We have a bullied student in our class to check up on." Darcy nodded in agreement with Lisa before the two of them ran to the school building to try and find their bullied classmate. After the two Kindergarten girls had disappeared into the school building, Lincoln and his friends turned back to face Lana.

Seeing the confused looks that she was getting from her older brother and his friends, Lana asked, "What's up?" In response to Lana's question, Lincoln and his friends proceeded to clap in applause, confusing the tomboyish Loud twin in the process.

* * *

A few days later, Lincoln and the younger Loud girls got back from their classes at RWES. As they were enjoying some snacks, Lisa regaled her siblings with what she and Darcy had been up to as of late. As it turned out, it was that Hugo boy who was being bullied by Ross and his goons; Lisa and Darcy's teacher advised the two girls to give Hugo a bit of time to himself, but she also encouraged the two girls to continue trying to reach out to Hugo the next day, due to how shy he was. As it currently stands, Lisa and Darcy had successfully reached out to Hugo, helped to break him out of his shell, and can now count him as a good friend.

As the brainy Loud sister continued with a story about how she, Darcy, Hugo and Lisa's crush David teamed up for a group project in class, the other elementary school-aged Loud girls listened on while Lincoln merely nodded in a manner that conveyed that he approved of Lisa's developing into a more mature human being. Granted, the white-haired boy still felt a smidge bitter about what went down back when all of that bad luck nonsense was going down, and how it compelled him to run away. He also still felt some resentment towards Lisa for her role in driving him to the point that he ran away.

…But then again, Lisa is still just a _four-year-old_, so you've got to figure. And Lincoln did feel guilty about throwing Lisa, along with Lola and Luan, under the bus the way that he did. Lisa's maturation, her growth as a person, on its own wasn't going to be enough to let her reconcile with Lincoln. But, as it was with Lori's apologetic display from a few days ago, it was a step in the right direction.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER EIGHT

Author's note:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; there's a big difference between being _intelligent_ and being _mature_, and Lisa, a genius four-year-old, is a good example of that in my opinion. It's also going to take more than simple growth/maturation as a person to let Lori and Lisa reconcile with Lincoln. But they _are_ steps in the right direction, and Lincoln can still appreciate the efforts that two of his ex-sisters are trying to make. Anyway, the next chapter is going to see Lincoln get one step closer to reconciling with his family as a whole.

Not two. One.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter nine: Royal Reconciliation

Lincoln Loud, who had recently returned home to Royal Woods after having run away from home, had just woken up and finished getting dressed in his bedroom, which was actually a (formerly boarded-up) converted linin closet. After stretching a bit while letting out a yawn, the white-haired boy left his room and proceeded to head down the stairs to get himself some breakfast. After making a turn to enter the dining room, Lincoln saw that his ex-sisters Lola, Lana and Lucy were all sitting at the table eating breakfast. Over in the kitchen, Rita, Lincoln's ex-mother, was preparing something for breakfast for herself and the other residents living in the Loud family house.

"Morning," the white-haired boy greeted in a tired tone as he let out a yawn, getting the ex-sisters to notice him walking into the dining room.

"Oh, good morning, Lincoln," Lana greeted, her tone sounding with a bit of trepidation. It was clear that the tomboyish Loud twin was worried about doing/saying anything that might upset her older brother, which was the last thing that she wanted.

"So, umm, Lincoln," Lola began, her tone sounding mildly unsure, "Do…do you have any plans for today?"

Shooting his younger ex-sisters a wry look, the white-haired boy had his interest/curiosity piqued by the fact that they were trying to spark a conversation with him. He supposed that the twins were just trying to be cordial. "…Well," Lincoln began, "Given that the schools here in the Royal Woods area have today off due to some sort of teacher's protest, I was planning on seeing if any of my friends were available to hang out." The tone that Lincoln spoke with was neutral yet cool, which had become something of a staple for the white-haired boy as of late. However, the coolness of his tone has simmered down a bit.

"Oh yeah, we have today off of school," Lana remarked, "I completely forgot about that." Turning to face her twin sister, Lana asked, "Hey Lola, would you be interested in coming with me to find some mud to play in?"

"No," the pageant-winning Loud twin replied instantly and in a flat tone, "Although I was thinking about heading to the park to play, provided that mom says it's okay."

To Lincoln's surprise, he let out a casual chuckle, finding some amusement in how his younger ex-sisters were going to have some fun. The Loud twins both turned to face their older brother after hearing his chuckle, then they turned to face each other. Ever since Lori found Lincoln over in Great Lakes City and brought him back home to Royal Woods, the sisters as a whole were worried that their only brother would keep to himself and continue to deny them (the girls) as his family. But that chuckle they heard out of him gave the twins something that they feared that they wouldn't have, not any time soon, at least.

A bit of hope that things will eventually be resolved.

The twins, as well as the other Loud sisters aside from Lily and Luan, were all still struggling to come up with something that they could do to make things right with their only brother. Lori and Lisa especially, since Lincoln had remarked that they're both on the right track to making things right (which they took to mean that one more thing, maybe two, might be enough to let them both reconcile with Lincoln). The twins proceeded to turn their attention back to their bowls of cereal, hoping to finish breakfast before they both headed out to go play.

The looks on the faces of the twins did not go by Lincoln unnoticed. As he sipped his glass of orange juice, the white-haired boy himself was feeling a bit hopeful; he could tell that both of the twins felt like they had a shot of making things right with him. Granted, Lincoln is still rather upset with what had happened to him, but that doesn't mean that he actually _hates_ any of his ex-siblings, or the rest of the Louds, for that matter.

After all, if the white-haired boy actually _did_ hate the rest of the Louds, then would he have even given them the chance to make up for what they did to him in the first place?

…

After making a few calls, Lincoln discovered, to his mild disappointment, that none of his friends were available to hang out today. Clyde and his dads were visiting some relatives of theirs, Zach had some relatives of his visiting, Rusty somehow did something that resulted in him getting grounded (in case anyone was wondering, Rusty's younger brother Rocky wasn't in any trouble), and Liam was at the hospital, given that his mother was rushed there due to breaking a leg; Liam was trying to provide moral support.

This meant that any plans that Lincoln had of hanging out with any of his friends today were shot. After he hung up the phone after talking to Liam, Lincoln turned around, looked up, and let out a bit of a resigned sigh. The white-haired boy supposed that he could spend the day reading comics or playing video games, but he was actually hoping to go outside to socialize and hang out with someone today.

…Heh, it's rather ironic, if you think about it. The one time that he actually _wanted_ to spend time with someone instead of being forced into it, Lincoln couldn't find anyone available to-

"Come on, mom!" Lincoln could hear his ex-sisters Lola and Lana say in unison in clear tones of complaint, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, girls," Rita's voice replied in an apologetic tone, "But I don't really feel all that comfortable with the idea of you two going to the park on your own. I mean, it would have been completely different if any of your five oldest sisters were available to keep an eye on you, but they all have something going on today."

Huh, so the twins couldn't go outside and play at the park because Lynn, Luan, Luna, Leni and Lori were all unavailable to keep an eye on them? The white-haired boy chuckled to himself a bit in a tone of slightly dark amusement. "_Oh well_," Lincoln thought in regards to the twins' plans being shot, "_No skin off my nose_."

…But then again, Lincoln realized that, to be completely honest, he himself didn't have much reason to find any amusement in the twins' plans being shot. After all, his own plans were shot due to lack of friends being available for him to hang out with, thus leaving him with nothing to do for the day. At the very least, the white-haired boy wanted to get out of the house for a bit, to get some fresh air.

After giving the notion a bit of thought for a few seconds, Lincoln walked over into the kitchen where Rita was talking to the twins while saying, "Hey, Mrs. Loud!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Lincoln was sitting on a bench at the local park. The white-haired boy' arms were laying over the back of the bench that he was sitting on as he looked up into the sky and watched the clouds go by. Nearby, Lola and Lana were playing, with Lana on the monkey bars and Lola in the sandbox. Lincoln let out a sigh that clearly indicated that he felt conflicted; despite a part of him actually wanting to reconcile with the rest of his ex-family, another part of him knew full well that none of them had done enough to warrant said reconciliation. Even Lori and Lisa, with the leaps and bounds that they had respectively made recently, haven't quite yet done enough reach that level.

As he watched the clouds overhead slowly move on by, Lincoln heard a familiar female voice call out, "Hey, Lame-o! What are you doing here?" Snapped out of his cloud gazing, Lincoln looked down and turned his head to see Ronnie Anne come walking over while carrying a skateboard under her right arm. Ronnie Anne was accompanied by her friend Astrid Ace, along with a girl who Lincoln didn't recognize.

The girl that was with Astrid looked to be about the same age as both Lola and Lana; this girl had her brown hair in twin pigtails, similar to how Lana has her hair. She wore a long-sleeved purple shirt with a white kitty face symbol in approximately the center, a light purple skirt that reached her knees, white socks that reached halfway up her shins, purple slip on shoes, and a yellow hat with matching bag. Similar to Astrid, this younger girl bore noticeable hints of having some degree of Asian heritage, leading the white-haired boy to suspect that this younger girl might be a sibling of Astrid's.

"Hey, Ronnie Anne," Lincoln greeted casually as he got up from the bench he sat on. Walking over to the girls, Lincoln continued, "Hey, Astrid. What's up?"

"I needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air," Ronnie Anne said while holding up her skateboard, "So I figured that I'd come here to the park and ride around for a bit." Jerking a thumb towards Astrid and the younger girl, Ronnie Anne continued, "I bumped into Astrid, who was on her way taking her younger sister Anna to the park, so I figured that I'd shoot the breeze with her."

"Astrid's friend's coat is a very pretty color!" the younger girl Ace girl, who was apparently named Anna, remarked, prompting Ronnie Anne to let out a mildly amused-sounding chuckle.

"That's the first time that I've heard someone outside of my family complement my jacket," the Queen of Pain said, "Most of the time, people tend to associate my jacket with terror."

"Ehh, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss that," Lincoln remarked dryly to Ronnie Anne, "I mean, I've heard some people refer to you as the 'Purple Pain' on more than one occasion."

"Purple Pain?" Ronnie Anne repeated in a tone of slight confusion. After giving what Lincoln said a bit of thought, the Hispanic girl let out an amused laugh. "Heh!" the Hispanic tomboy chuckled, "That's actually pretty good! I think that I might actually start using that one!"

Letting out a mildly resigned sigh, Astrid said as she turned to face Ronnie Anne, "And you always wonder why I'm worried that you'll eventually get yourself into some trouble." Ronnie Anne said nothing, only let out another chuckle.

…

While Ronnie Anne was riding around the park on her skateboard, Lincoln and Astrid both sat on the bench that Lincoln initially had to himself, keeping an eye on Lola, Lana and Anna. While the two white-haired kids were keeping an eye on their respective younger siblings, they decided to talk to each other. "Your friend Rusty got himself grounded?" Astrid asked in a concerned tone, clearly taken back a bit, "What did he do?"

With an indifferent shrug, Lincoln replied, "I'm pretty sure it had to do with breaking something. I didn't get a whole lot of details on the matter, so don't quote me on that."

"I see," Astrid said, her tone still sounding concerned. Turning to face Lincoln, Astrid asked, "Wasn't Rusty that friend of yours who mentioned that you got both Ross and Chandler to be afraid of you?"

"Yeah, that was Rusty who brought it up," Lincoln answered with a single nod, "You're still creeped out by both of them constantly trying to flirt with you, aren't you? Have you tried either telling a teacher or Principal Huggins about it?"

"I have tried pursuing both of those options, yes," Astrid replied, her tone sounding mildly dejected, "But I haven't actually been able to tell anyone on the school staff anything on the matter. Something always pops up before I could get a word out edgewise."

"Have you tried setting the record straight with either of them?" the white-haired boy suggested.

"Yes," Astrid began to explain, "But whenever I try to tell either of them how I feel, they always interrupt me before I could get my point across, making my efforts for nothing."

Lincoln gave a bit of consideration to the situation that the Swedish/Japanese girl was finding herself in. After thinking about it for a few brief moments, Lincoln asked, "Why don't you tell your parents about what's going on, and getting one of them to meet with Ross's folks and the McCanns? That should sort things out."

"I…suppose that I could inform my mom about my problem," Astrid began a bit nervously, "My dad…unfortunately isn't around anymore. Although I suppose that I could bring in my older brother Aggro to help."

The white-haired boy understood what the white-haired girl was talking about. He could also tell that the absence of her father was something of a rather touchy subject for her, so he decided not to push the matter further.

"But enough about my own problems," Astrid remarked, "From what Ronnie Anne has told me, you've got some rather serious issues of your own, considering that some of your sisters did something downright unforgivable to you. Ronnie Anne didn't go into a whole lot of detail on the matter, but she did say something about having a very strong desire to bloody the noses of all of your sisters who are responsible for your troubles."

Lincoln wasn't all that surprised to see that Ronnie Anne had talked to Astrid about how he was compelled to run away a while ago, although he had to wonder if Ronnie Anne had told the white-haired girl about the four specific girls that he mentioned when Bobby was expecting him to name some names. And if the Queen of Pain seriously wanted to bloody the noses of _all_ of the ex-sisters that were responsible for Lincoln's troubles, then she would have a hell of a lot more work ahead of her than what she must have been currently thinking.

"I'm…going to have to ask Ronnie Anne not to do that," Lincoln remarked dryly, "I can deal with my sisters on my own."

The white-haired girl smiled in a mildly impressed manner upon hearing Lincoln's response. "You really are a great person, Lincoln," Astrid remarked, "Now I see why your friend with the glasses trusts you so much."

"My friend with the glasses?" Lincoln repeated in a mildly confused tone; he had two friends who wore glasses, so it could have been either one. "Which one are you talking about, Astrid?" the white-haired boy continued, "Clyde or Zach?"

"I don't know his name," Astrid admitted, a mild hint of embarrassment in her tone, "All I know is that he wears glasses." With a hint of blushing on her face, the white-haired Ace girl added, "Also, he's a _far_ nicer boy than either Ross or Chandler." After hearing Astrid say this, along with seeing the look on her face, Lincoln's expression changed to one of mildly surprised piqued interest; does Astrid actually have a crush on either Clyde or Zach (she wasn't being all that specific, only saying that Lincoln's friend in question wore glasses)? Better not mention this to either Ross or Chandler.

...Actually, scratch that. Lincoln would _totally _enjoy rubbing this fact in their faces.

"But enough about me," Astrid said, snapping Lincoln out of his thoughts. Giving Lincoln a concerned look, Astrid continued, "You aren't going to hold what your sisters did to you against them forever, are you? Because despite what they may have done, they're your family." With a mildly sad look on her face, Astrid said, "You'll never know when the chance to let go of your resentment towards one of them will disappear because they might…no longer be around." Shaking her head gently, Astrid said, "Sorry about that last part. I guess that since my dad, along with my aunt and uncle, aren't around anymore, I tend to let my imagination run wild a bit."

Despite Astrid apologizing for letting her imagination run wild a bit, Lincoln had to admit that the white-haired Ace girl had raised a very excellent point. After all, the white-haired boy had no way of telling if one of his ex-sisters might suddenly 'no longer be around', as Astrid had put it. If such a fate did happen to one of the Loud girls before the girl in question had a chance to make amends with Lincoln, the white-haired boy had no doubt that he would feel guilty about it.

The dream that he had where he chased down and killed Lori in cold blood also made Lincoln feel a degree of horror with the idea. It was a dream that still gave him chills to this day.

"I don't want to hold what my sisters did to me against them forever, no," Lincoln remarked to Astrid, "But given the stunt that they pulled, I don't want to just hand them forgiveness on a silver platter." Looking up into the sky, Lincoln let out a sigh as he continued, "When the time comes for me to reconcile with one of them, I want to be justified in doing so. Otherwise, would the reconciliation have any actual meaning?"

Astrid looked at Lincoln, a small but appreciative smile on her face. "That sounds pretty wise of you, Lincoln," the white-haired Ace girl remarked, "But still, I hope that you'll eventually be able to rebuild the bridge between you and your sisters who have wronged you." Looking up into the sky herself, Astrid added, "Not being able to ever make things right with a family member doesn't sound all that pleasant if you ask me. I wouldn't like to be in such a spot like that myself, even more so if something ends up happening that would make it impossible for me to reconcile with a family member that wronged me."

"Yeah," Lincoln replied as he continued to look up into the clouds. Granted, Lincoln was upset with more of the Loud girls than what Astrid was aware of, and he still wanted to forgive those who have wronged him during the bad luck fiasco.

But the white-haired boy also wanted to be justified when he rebuilt a bridge.

* * *

After Lincoln had gotten his younger ex-sisters home, his friend Rusty called him up; as it turned out, the offence that Rusty had been grounded over was actually the fault of his dad, Mr. Spokes, who had apparently used his oldest son as something of a scapegoat. When Mrs. Spokes found out about this, she ungrounded Rusty, making him free to go, while she had a serious talking-to with her husband. After the two friends had been hanging out for approximately two and a half hours, they made their way past the local comic book/card shop.

"Hey, Lincoln," Rusty began as he eyed up the comic book/card shop, "You mind if we swing in here really quick? There's something that I want to check out."

The white-haired boy, who had no objections, simply gestured to the store's front door in a casual manner, giving his friend the cue to go on ahead. The older Spokes boy promptly entered the comic book/card shop, with Lincoln following close behind. Lincoln had come here multiple times prior to his…extended vacation…over in Great Lakes City, as it was a reliable seller of the newest issues of the Ace Savvy comic whenever they're released. Thinking about this reminded Lincoln that he missed more than one issue, and he would have to order a few from backlog.

Rusty himself was also something of a fan of the Ace Savvy comics. However, he didn't enter the shop for its selection of comics, which Lincoln observed when he watched Rusty take out a deck box from his backpack. It was a basic plastic deck box in a solid green color that matched his shirt that he was wearing. "I want to see if I can get any cards to improve my deck," Rusty explained as he held the basic green deck box.

Looking at Rusty's deck box with a look of mildly piqued interest, Lincoln asked, "What kind of game is it for?"

"Duel monsters," Rusty replied, "My deck is mostly a generic mash-up of machines and machine support. But I will say that I'm better than a fair chunk of the kids at our school who also play." With a bit of an amused smirk, the older Spokes boy said, "Hey Lincoln, did I ever tell you about the time where I played a match against Ronnie Anne in a tournament at this shop and won?"

Hearing that Rusty, of all people, actually beat Ronnie Anne caught the white-haired boy by surprise. This was something that he wanted to hear more about. "…Really now, Rusty," Lincoln remarked, "You beat Ronnie Anne."

Nodding in the affirmative, Rusty continued, "Totally, man! She was running some sort of generic warrior build, and I was paired to face her in the tournament. I actually defeated her two duels in a row, winning the match outright. So yeah." With a bit of a self-amused look on his face, Rusty said as he gently rubbed the middle knuckles of his right hand fingers against his chest, "I beat Ronnie Anne."

"Ha! Ain't that the biggest lie that I've ever heard," a familiar male voice called out, making Lincoln and Rusty both turn to see Ross come walking over to them. "That girl is nothing short of an absolute terror when it comes to brawling on the playground," Ross went on, "Are you aware of how many people were sent to the nurse's office at school because the Queen of Pain physically injured them?" Giving the older Spokes boy a look of total disbelief, Ross said, "I believe the other kids at our school would have heard word of it if you actually beat Ronnie Anne in a fight."

"Oh no," Rusty began to explain, "I never got into a fist-fight with Ronnie Anne. If I did, then she would have soundly throttled me." Holding up his deck box, Rusty continued, "I was telling Lincoln about the time I beat Ronnie Anne in a match of a Duel Monsters tournament that was held here a while ago."

Ross looked at the basic green deck box that the older Spokes boy held. "…Oh, my mistake," the conceited blonde boy remarked indifferently, "And here I was thinking that you were claiming to have fought Ronnie Anne in a one-on-one fight and won." With a bit of curiosity entering his otherwise entirely dry expression, Ross asked, "So what kind of deck do you run?"

"Why do you care?" Rusty asked.

Cracking his neck a bit in a casual manner, Ross said, "I'm actually looking for a few cards. I was thinking that there's a chance that you might have one or two." The conceited blonde boy reached into his back right pocket, pulled out a folded-up sheet of paper ripped out of a seventy-page spiral bound notebook, and unfolded it. Handing the list over, Ross said, "These are all of the cards that I'm looking for."

After seeing just the first few items on Ross's list, Rusty scoffed in a tone that indicated that he wasn't surprised in the least by what he was seeing. "Of course you'd be looking for these cards, Ross," remarked the older Spokes boy, "These are some of the most expensive card in the duel monsters TCG. Even the cheapest one I'm seeing here is a little over thirty dollars."

Thirty dollars? For just _one_ card? Lincoln could not help but be surprised by that notion; back when he lived as a runaway in Great Lakes City, Lincoln did various odd jobs to earn some money so that he could at the very least buy something to eat if he got hungry. Although he was occasionally payed fairly well for his odd jobs service, such as receiving twenty dollars for one job that only lasted an afternoon, most of the time Lincoln only received a few dollars for the work that he did. It took the white-haired boy a while to save up a decent amount, even if one were to take into account the aforementioned occasional boons. So to hear that some people would actually be willing to drop roughly thirty dollars just to buy _one_ card sounded to be a bit on the excessive side for Lincoln.

Taking his list back from Rusty, Ross said, "Well I _am_ someone who appreciates the finer things in life, which tend to veer on the expensive side of things." Folding his list back up and slipping it back into his back right pocket, the conceited blonde boy pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose a bit. "So Rusty," Ross began, the conceited tone in his words unchanging, "I take it that you have none of the cards on my list, then?"

"Yeah, I don't have any of them," Rusty replied, his tone towards the conceited blonde boy cool yet neutral, "Apologies."

"Hmm," Ross replied indifferently, "I should have figured as much." Arching an eyebrow a bit, Ross continued, "I don't suppose you might know anyone who might have any of the cards that I'm looking for, do you?"

Rusty gave the matter a bit of thought. "…During the tournament here last Saturday," the older Spokes boy began, "I remember seeing Ronnie Anne's older brother Bobby using a Black Luster Solider-Solider of Chaos, which was one of the cards that I saw on your list. Bobby told me he borrowed it from Astrid's older brother Aggro, who couldn't come to the tournament that day since he had other business that he had to take care of."

"You've got to be kidding me," Ross nearly exclaimed, "You're telling me that the older brother of our school's cutest girl has a BLS-SOC?"

"Heh," Rusty chuckled, "Good luck trying to get it from Aggro."

"Trust me, I'm pretty good when it comes to getting something that I'm after," Ross remarked as he proceeded to walk around Rusty and Lincoln in order to head out of the shop. As he started to walk around Lincoln, Ross continued with a hint of knowing amusement in his tone, "I'll get Astrid to help me out on this. There shouldn't be any reason why a cute girl like her wouldn't be willing to help me with-"

Ross was cut off midsentence, as well as being stopped from moving, when Lincoln put his left hand against Ross's right shoulder, bringing the conceited blonde boy to a screeching halt. At first, Ross was going to object and complain about the white-haired boy stopping him. But when he saw that Lincoln was giving him a glaring look that was just shy of exuding Killing Intent, Ross wisely decided to catch himself.

"…Here's a newsflash for you, Ross," Lincoln began, his tone calm but clearly carrying a hint of stern warning, "Astrid Ace isn't just some trophy that you can use to get whatever you want from her older brother. She is her own person, and must be respected as such. Give up what you have in mind concerning her." Adding just a bit more seriousness to his glare and his tone, the white-haired boy said, "Now."

The conceited blonde boy was very much cowed by the intimidation from Lincoln. It still escaped Ross how such a seemingly dorky person could not only stand up to him, but exude enough will to overpower him. Not wanting to push things any further with the white-haired boy, Ross wisely decided to back down from him.

Ross knew when and where to pick his battles; this one against the white-haired boy was practically bellowing at Ross that it was one that he wasn't going to win. "…I'll give her some space for the time being, I suppose," Ross replied, "I need time to gather my thoughts on what to say to her, anyway. A girl like Astrid isn't someone a guy can just walk up to and chat up casually." Without waiting around for Lincoln to reply, the conceited blonde boy took his leave from the shop.

Lincoln figured that this was the best that he was going to get from Ross, and thus he decided to let it be. Getting off that subject, Lincoln, wanting to be a good friend, proceeded to ask Rusty about this 'Duel monsters' game that he apparently liked. For his part, Rusty was all too happy to go into detail about the game. From the way that the older Spokes boy was talking about it, Lincoln figured that it might be worth checking out at some point. Thus the rest of his time at the shop proved to be time well spent for the white-haired boy.

…However, little did Lincoln know that he was secretly being watched by two blonde-haired six-year-olds, one a well-dressed boy with the arms of a sweater tied around his neck, and the other was a certain pageant-winning girl. The boy of the pair, for his part, was a bit wary of Ross, having encountered him before and not being all that fond of the self-assured fifth grader who saw himself as the pinnacle of everything.

The _girl_ of the pair, on the other hand, did not like how Ross was annoying Lincoln. AT ALL. The way he so arrogantly talked while addressing the white-haired boy did not sit well with her, and she also didn't like how he was referring to some girl who didn't even like him as a trophy that he had previously won, and how he thought that entitled him to something belonging to the girl's older brother.

"_There is NO way I am going to let that oaf get away with how he talked to Lincoln_," Lola Loud thought as a plan began to form in her six-year-old mind, "_That blonde jerk with the glasses is going to get a VERY rude wake_-_up call_."

* * *

To say that Ross was surprised that a pair of six-year-olds, those being Lola and her crush Winston, would confront him a few moments after he left the comic/card shop would be just a little bit of an understatement. He and the two six-year-olds were in an alleyway a few storefronts away from the shop, in a somewhat dark area that would make it difficult for someone to see what was going on from outside the alleyway without going inside to take a closer look.

"Uhh…okay," Ross began in a baffled yet casual tone, "Is there something that I can help you two kiddies with?"

The pageant-winning Loud sister pointed an accusing finger at the conceited blonde boy standing before her and Winston. "I saw what you were doing," Lola began in an accusing tone, "Giving Lincoln and his friend trouble like that! You think that I'm just going to stand around and let something like that go?"

Upon hearing the six-year-old girl's declaration, Ross chuckled a bit in a self-amused tone. "Oh, I get it," Ross remarked, "You have some schoolgirl crush on Lincoln, and you didn't like how I had a bit of an argument with him."

"EWWW!" Lola exclaimed in disgust, "I don't have a crush on Lincoln! How disgusting can your mind be, you uncultured swine?!"

Ross's expression highlighted how his attitude became immediately cross upon being insulted by someone who, unlike Lincoln, can't stop Ross from getting back at them. "Look here, little girl," Ross began, "I don't really care for being insulted. So you best be taking back what you called me, unless of course you want me to introduce both you and your little friend here to some of the garbage cans in this here alleyway." Narrowing his eyes to give his expression a more serious look, the conceited blonde boy added, "Face-first."

"With all due respect, my good man," Winston began, "Not only does Lola have every right to recoil in disgust from you implying that she has a crush on Lincoln, but threatening to shove a pair of six-year-olds face-first into garbage cans is not called for. Not to mention how you'll get into some rather serious trouble if you go through with your threat."

"Which is why _neither of you_ will be talking unless you want it _worse_," Ross said as he cracked his knuckles. Taking a few steps towards Lola and Winston, the conceited blonde boy said to Lola, "Now let me say it just one more time. Apologize for insulting me, or else I will thrash both you and your little friend here."

Although Winston was a bit worried by the fact that an older and clearly hostile kid was approaching both him and Lola, Lola herself was completely dismissive of it. "Pfft, yeah right," the pageant-winning Loud sister said in a casual tone, "Like anything you pull can be worse than some of the-"

*HWHAP*

Lola was cut off when Ross's right fist slugged her in the left eye, knocking her back a few feet and landing rather hard on her rear end. Before Winston could react, the conceited blonde boy grabbed him by his shirt collar, hoisted him up, and proceeded to carry him over to the nearest garbage can in the alleyway. However, Ross didn't get a few steps towards his goal before he was grabbed around the waist from behind, making him drop Winston mostly out of surprise.

"You let him go right now!" Lola screamed at the older kid, prompting him to turn around and throw a punch into Lola's face, striking her across her face in a manner that broke her nose a bit. The pageant-winning Loud sister could not help but scream as she immediately covered her now bleeding nose with both hands.

As she had both of her hands occupied, Ross was free to go on and teach this little girl a lesson for daring to give him lip. Turning around, the conceited blonde boy also considered giving the boy of the pair a good thrashing to, knowing that it should give the kid the idea that trying to distract him when he was busy was a poor move. Yeah, that's what Ross decided he would do as he left the little blonde girl-

*WUHBAM*

Ross's trail of thought was interrupted once again when he was shoulder-rammed from his blindside, making him stumble back about three feet or so. Ross was as at first going to snap at whoever thought it was a good idea to launch a sneak attack on him like that while he couldn't counter it. But all thoughts of making a comeback or getting revenge fled the conceited blonde boy's mind right away when he saw that it was Lincoln who shoulder-rammed him.

"…What…" the white-haired boy began, his tone calm yet clearly veiling a brewing storm, "…The…FUCK?!" Ross and the six-year-olds in the alleyway were all taken aback by Lincoln's sudden shouting, Ross especially so. The conceited blonde boy went wide-eyed with surprise, with fear, as that white-haired nightmare was absolutely livid.

Lincoln was glaring angrily at Ross, who was fixated to the spot he stood in out of sheer fright. So potent was the Killing Intent that the white-haired boy was exuding at that moment that even Winston and Lola, neither of whom were the target of Lincoln's fury and in fact stood behind him, could feel the sheer savage wrath that was radiating off of Lincoln. In fact, Lola was so frightened by seeing her older brother like this that she actually pissed herself out of sheer fright right there and then.

The three kids bearing witness to this side of Lincoln could do nothing, say nothing, as they watched Lincoln raise his right arm. Using his right index finger, Lincoln pointed to the other end of the alleyway, which was behind Ross. "…Five," Lincoln said, not shouted, in the same storm-masking calm tone that he was using before he shouted.

Confused (and still very much frightened), Ross said, "E-E-Excuse me?"

"…Four…" Lincoln continued, "…Three…" Ross then understood right then and there what this white-haired terror was implying. More than glad to take the cue, Ross turned around and ran as fast as he could in the direction that Lincoln was pointing in. It wouldn't be until after he literally ran all the way home that Ross discovered he (had also) pissed himself out of sheer fright.

When the conceited blonde boy was out of sight and earshot, Lincoln lowered his arm to his side, his anger dissipating quickly. Turning around, he got a look at Lola and Winston. Other than being a bit ruffled up, Winston was fine. It was Lola who was worse for wear; the heavily bruised eye, the hard landing on her rear, and the broken (and still bleeding) nose were all signs that the pageant-winning Loud sister had bitten off more than she could chew.

Lincoln also noticed that both six-year-olds were looking positively frightened, and that they were both looking at him. The white-haired boy sighed in a resigned tone. "…Yeah, that really scary air that I was giving off is how I got jerks like Chandler and Ross to leave me alone," the white-haired boy explained, "Also, this was the first time that I had ever used physical violence, had cursed and had raised my voice when scaring jerks into backing off."

The relaxed and slightly tired air that Lincoln was giving off now got Lola and Winston to calm down and not be as scared. Winston flinched slightly when Lincoln referred to him by name, but he relaxed again when Lincoln explained that he had to bring Lola back home. The posh six-year-old boy understood, and after apologizing to Lola about how terribly their day together had ended today, he took his leave. After that, Lincoln picked Lola up, carried her over his back, and proceeded to walk out of the alleyway.

* * *

As he carried Lola over his back while walking on the sidewalk in the neighborhood that they lived in, Lincoln said, "Hey, Lola."

"Hmm?" Lola replied in a tired tone, the experiences she had today making her feel exhausted.

"Why did you and your crush confront Ross like that?" Lincoln asked; his tone carried nothing but concern, worry and a little bit of curiosity. It was clear that he wasn't trying to, nor was he intending to, scold Lola over what she did. Lola could tell that Lincoln wasn't mad at her, which was the last thing that she wanted right now. But she was still a little tired, and more than a little upset. So she just spoke simply.

"I didn't like how that guy was talking to you in the shop earlier," Lola began, "I was afraid that him treating you the way that he did would make you want to leave again, so I decided to confront him about it." The pageant-winning Loud sister scrunched up a bit as she rested over her older brother's back. "…Please don't leave again, Lincoln," Lola said as tears began to fall down the sides of her face gently, "I don't want you to leave again." As Lola sniffled a bit (made somewhat difficult due to the condition of her nose) while she was crying, the white-haired boy sighed in a knowing manner.

This wasn't the first time that Lola made a grand gesture at personal sacrifice for and of her siblings, Lincoln realized; the biggest one that came to mind for him was when Lola took the blame for a lot of what Lincoln and the other Loud girls did, getting them off the hook while getting herself grounded for a month. However, unlike that event, Lola was seriously physically hurt when she confronted Ross over giving him (Lincoln) any trouble. Sure, it was unnecessary (Lola doesn't know/care), as Lincoln is more than able to make Ross back off on his own.

But Lola confronted him anyway. And got very much roughed up for her troubles. All because she was afraid that Lincoln would want to leave Royal Woods again.

As the pageant-winning Loud sister sniffled a bit more, Lincoln said, "Hey, Lola."

After a few more sniffles, Lola said in a mildly upset tone, "Mmm?"

"Luan and that Benny guy she likes are going to be performing at some sort of improv thing tonight," the white-haired boy explained, "You feel like coming along with me after getting yourself cleaned up a bit?" Lola was surprised to hear her older brother ask her that. She thought that he was still mad at her for the part she played in making him leave Royal Woods in the first place. She thought that he didn't consider her as family. So naturally, she had to ask.

"W…Why would you ask me to come along with you?" Lola replied.

"Hmm?" Lincoln said casually, "You're my little sister, aren't you?" And that's all that it took. Hearing her older brother say that, something that she thought that she wasn't ever going to hear again, made Lola resume her crying again. It was still quiet, as Lola was still recovering from her experiences today, but the pageant-winning Loud sister knew that she was going to feel better.

After all, she needed to get ready to go see a performance with her brother when they got home.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER NINE

Author's note:

Lola reconciling with Lincoln is rather different here than it was in the original in two regards. First, Lola and Lana both practically made a bakery, burning their hands in the process. Second, Lincoln reconciled with Lola _and_ Lana at the exact same time; here it was just Lola, meaning that Lincoln still doesn't consider Lana as his family. This is something that will undoubtedly come up in a later chapter, as it will be something of a source of conflict.

Anyway, the main plot of this story is going to be taking a bit of a break next time, as I've got more work to do when it comes to developing Chandler's character in the setting of this story. All I will say on the matter is that it's going to show a side of things that wasn't seen in the original version.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter ten: Chandler Begins

Chandler McCann was at the local comic book/card shop one day, alongside his friends Trent and Frank. The red-headed boy's friends were watching at Chandler himself was playing a game of Duel Monsters against an opponent. Now normally, this wouldn't be all that big of a deal. However, the opponent that the fifth-grade McCann boy found himself facing off against was Aggro Ace, the seventeen-year-old older brother of Astrid Ace, the cutest girl at RWES (at least if you ask Chandler, that is).

It was no contest; the male Ace twin soundly defeated Chandler. "I don't suppose you'd care for another-" Aggro said as he began to offer Chandler a rematch, but a ringtone that repeatedly said 'A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE!' went off from somewhere. Realizing it was his phone, Aggro reached into his pocket to grab his phone and answer the call. "Hello?" the male Ace twin said, "…Oh, hey, Amy. …Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm out at the moment, but I can easily come home right away. I'll see you and the others shortly."

After he ended the call, Aggro flipped his phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket. "Sorry about that, kid," Aggro said in an apologetic manner, "But we're going to have to cut things short here. I'm needed at home to keep an eye on my younger siblings."

"I'm guessing that includes Astrid?" Chandler asked as he and Aggro were gathering up their respective cards. Having heard the red-headed boy mention Astrid by name, Aggro paused in his card gathering.

He looked up from where his cards were laying on the game mat he had and over to Chandler. "…Funny how you mention my younger sister like that, little man," the male Ace twin began, a mild hint of suspicion in his tone, "I got it from Astrid that you're one of the kids at her school who has taken to being a little…consistent…in flirting with her."

Chandler, having picked up on the shift in the male Ace twin's tone, instantly became a little wary of where this conversation was going to lead. "…Well, yeah," the red-headed boy replied, "I mean, Astrid is pretty much the cutest girl at my school. I also gathered that you're one of her siblings who goes to the high school."

"Well I'm sure she'd appreciate the kind words," Aggro remarked, "Had they not, of course, come from someone who flirts with her way too much and way too often. It's making her feel rather uncomfortable."

A look of surprise, with a little bit of worry mixed in, appeared on Chandler's face. "What do you mean uncomfortable?" Chandler asked, "If that was the case, why didn't she say-"

The red-headed boy found himself cut off when Aggro held a hand up, palm facing towards Chandler, in a gesture signaling for him to stop. "…Astrid told me that whenever she does try to bring the matter up to either you or the other boy who has taken to flirting with her in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable, both you and the other boy don't give her a chance to get a word in edgewise," Aggro explained, a firm look on his face.

Having finished gathering his things and putting them away in his bag, Aggro got up, the right strap of his bag over his right shoulder. "…I'm getting the vibe that you honestly meant well," the male Ace twin said to Chandler, reigniting a spark of hope within the red-headed boy, "It's just that you were a bit too…bold in your approach, let's say. You just need to tone down the boldness, is all."

The red-headed boy looked up at Aggro, a curious look on his face. "Tone down how bold I am when I try talking to her?" Chandler asked.

"Considerably," Aggro replied in an affirmative manner. Turning around, Aggro said before he left the shop, "As it stands, you ought to give Astrid some space for the time being anyway. It would be a shame if I had to have a talk similar to this one, but your folks got involved." As he walked away, the male Ace twin said, "_Sayonara_, Chandler-kun."

After Aggro had left, Trent and Frank turned to regard their friend/leader of their group of friends. "…So Chandler," Frank began, "What's the plan?"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Chandler said, "I'm going to have to put trying to get Astrid as my girlfriend on the back burner for the time being." Getting up from the table he was sitting at, Chandler continued, "Besides which, I have something else that needs taking care of."

Both Frank and Trent chuckled a bit, knowing full well what the red-headed boy was talking about. "…Oh yeah," Trent remarked, "That Francisco fellow."

"His dad is competing with mine for that big promotion at the sewage treatment plant," Chandler explained, "So if either Francisco or I do something good or bad, it will reflect in an appropriate manner on our respective dads." Giving his friends a serious look, Chandler continued, "That being said, if we make Francisco look bad enough, then his dad will look like someone who isn't all that good a person, as he's responsible for Francisco."

Trent and Frank both nodded in agreement with their red-headed friend. "Anyway, come on," Chandler said as he gestured for his friends to follow him, "We got to get going. I unknowingly got a bit of a head start since Francisco's youth baseball team was barred from playing for the year because they were revealed to be cheating, but that's not something that I can exclusively rely on, especially since he didn't do any of the actual cheating himself."

"You got a plan to help things along, then?" Frank asked, both he and Trent regarding Chandler with curious looks.

The red-headed boy turned around to regard his two friends. "…I do," Chandler replied, "And I've already set it in motion."

* * *

Francisco, a thirteen-year-old boy living in the Royal Woods area, couldn't believe his luck. The cheating of his baseball team had been discovered, resulting in them not only being disqualified from the last game that they were playing, but they were also barred from playing for the rest of the season. Not only that, but the trophy that Francisco's team won last season was revoked since the team had cheated during the game where they won it, and the coach was in quite a bit of legal trouble since his betting on the games was discovered.

And this is saying nothing of how many people in the Royal Woods area had lost a lot of trust and respect for the team, coach and all. At least singular members of the team were able to avoid this distrust if not a lot of people were familiar with them; this included Francisco himself, one of the very few who did not commit any of the actual cheating. There was also this one girl on Francisco's team who didn't commit any of the actual cheating, but the thirteen-year-old boy couldn't for the life of him remember that girl's name.

There was also something else that was bothering Francisco. Well, two things, actually; the first was how did word of what his team was doing even get out? Those men who searched the team's locker room wouldn't have done so unless they were tipped off, so someone had to have told them. And with how the coach, as well as the members of the team who were doing the cheating, were pressuring those who weren't cheating into keeping quiet (Francisco was among those who were pressured into silence), there shouldn't have been any leaks.

The second thing that was on the thirteen-year-old boy's mind was that girl from the opposing team, the one who slapped him hard across his face before turning around and running off. Francisco was partly familiar with that girl-he believed she was one of the girls from that one local family that had a whole lot of kids-but he had no idea who she was beyond that. He wasn't even sure if he was right about that girl coming from that large local family. Francisco shrugged indifferently as he laid on his bed in his room, figuring that the girl wasn't any concern of his.

As the thirteen-year-old boy laid on his bed, he heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Francisco called out, and about a second later, the door opened and an adult woman appeared in the doorway. Seeing this woman, Francisco said, "What's up, mom?"

The woman, Francisco's mom, sighed in a bit of a resigned tone. "How are you holding up, sweetie?" Francisco's mom asked.

With a shrug, the thirteen-year-old boy replied, "As well as I can, given that I'm being punished for something other kids on my team did and I had no part in." Sitting up on his bed, Francisco continued, "Is there anything you need me to do or help out with?"

"As a matter of fact," Francisco's mom remarked, "I need you to run down to the store to pick up a few things for me. I'll give you a twenty to cover costs, and there should be enough change left afterwards to get yourself a nice little something."

Francisco looked at his mom as he arched an eyebrow out of mild curiosity; given how much of a hardass his dad was being (even though Francisco didn't actually do any of the cheating his baseball team had carried out), the thirteen-year-old boy was under the impression that he wasn't allowed to have any manner of privilege until the heat-death of the universe. Francisco was fairly sure that if his dad found out he got himself a little something with the change from this grocery store trip, he'd be punished even more.

Francisco agreed to do the chore for his mother, saying that he might get himself a snack if there's sufficient change for one after the groceries were purchased. The thirteen-year-old boy got himself ready to head out (all he had to do was throw on a pair of socks and his shoes), and after accepting a twenty dollar bill and a shopping list from his mom, he headed out of the house and proceeded to make his way to the local grocery store.

* * *

As it turned out, Francisco was not only able to get everything on the list his mother had provided, but there was a little over five dollars in change. Even so, the thirteen-year-old boy didn't get himself anything, knowing that his dad would complain about him getting any sort of privilege while he's being punished. If Francisco's mom pushes the matter, Francisco will simply say that he couldn't find any of the snack that he wanted to get and thus decided not to even bother with it.

He hoped that both parents would buy his answer without pushing the sub-

"Hey, aren't you Francisco?" a younger male voice called out as the thirteen-year-old boy stood outside of the grocery store, having taken out his phone so he could shoot his mother a quick text letting her know that he got the groceries. Looking up and over a bit, Francisco saw a red-headed boy who was somewhat younger than him come running up to him, waiving his right hand in the air as he came running. Curious as to how this random kid knew who he was, Francisco decided to let the kid come over.

"Whew, glad I caught up to you," the red-headed boy said when he reached Francisco.

The thirteen-year-old boy gave this red-headed kid a wry look. "And you are?" Francisco said, trailing off in a manner showing that he was expecting to be filled in.

"Oh, my name's Ross," the red-headed kid said as he introduced himself with a bit of a bow; it was actually Chandler, giving the name of his rival for Astrid's affections as his own. "Sorry about not introducing myself earlier." Francisco was about to ask this Ross kid what he wanted with him, but he beat him to the punch on that matter. "Anyway, I saw you and your team play in that baseball game against that red team," Chandler began. With a noticeable hint of sympathy in his expression, Chandler added, "Sorry about what happened to your team."

The last thing that Francisco needed right now was to be reminded of his baseball team getting barred from playing for the rest of the season, as well most of Francisco's teammates (as well as Francisco himself) getting grounded by their respective parents AND the fact that the team is going to have a new coach when they're allowed to play again beginning next season. The look on Francisco's face, a scowling, annoyed look, actually made Chandler back up a step.

"…Your point being?" Francisco asked, his tone making it clear that he was in no mood to be messed with at the moment.

"Hey man, I understand how you feel," Chandler replied, "I have a sibling who played in that game, and they are not happy with what happened either. I was even at the game, so I was what happened when those guys ended the game early."

Francisco instantly thought that this was just _super_; the kid sibling of one of the kids who played in that fateful game decided to come up to him and grill him over his team's actions that led to their disqualification from the game and the rest of the season. "…_Wait_," Francisco thought as he started to realize what (he thought) was going on, "_This Ross kid doesn_'_t sound like he_'_s out to bust my chops over the game_." Deciding to see where this was going, Francisco asked, "So you saw my team and I get embarrassed that day. Big whoop."

"I just wanted to tell you that I actually saw someone go into the locker room I saw your team use for that baseball game," Chandler said. Leaning forward somewhat, the red-headed boy continued, "I know that what your team was up to was bad, but I don't think that you and your teammates are being treated all that nicely for a lapse in judgment. Plus, I heard that there are more than a few kids on your team who are looking to find out whoever it was that ratted them out to the officials."

The last part that this Ross kid said was…not _un_true, Francisco realized; there were, in fact, no less than eight kids on his team, one of which being Francisco himself, who wanted to find out who it was that ratted them out to the officials from the game so that they could teach that kid a little bit of a 'lesson'. And Ross here was willing to give that kid's name to Francisco? This was an opportunity that the thirteen-year-old boy could not pass up, not if he wanted to get revenge on the little bastard who got him into trouble for something he technically had no part in doing.

"…I have to get these groceries home first, but is there someplace I can meet up with you at later so we can talk more about this?" Francisco asked.

Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, Chandler said, "The local park across the road from here ought to be sufficient. You can meet me by that big multi-colored jungle gym thing starting at six in the afternoon."

"And you said your name was Ross, right?" Francisco asked, drawing a nod in the affirmative from the red-headed boy. Nodding once in confirmation, the thirteen-year-old boy said, "Okay, Ross, I'll meet you at that jungle gym in the park at around six. Don't keep me waiting."

With a mildly self-amused look on his face, Chandler replied, "I was going to say the same to you." Francisco nodded once in thanks before he took his leave, leaving Chandler alone. When the thirteen-year-old boy was out of sight, Chandler turned around and walked into the grocery store, figuring that he could get himself a snack.

As he browsed the aisle of candy in the store, the red-headed boy smirked to himself, knowing that the first part of his plan had gone off without issue.

* * *

Later that day, Chandler went to the park about fifteen minutes before six, as he wanted to be waiting for Francisco to show, rather than the other way around. The red-headed boy saw that his thirteen-year-old associate was nowhere to be seen; good, being here first gave Chandler a bit of an advantage, and he wanted any and every edge he could get. Chandler had also assumed that there was a fair chance Francisco might bring some of his fellow disgruntled teammates along, but Chandler had no need to worry about this; the only person from Francisco's team who could have recognized him was Kara, and she was by no means disgruntled over what happened. There was no chance Francisco would bring someone who'd recognize Chandler and make the whole plan go south.

After waiting for about seventeen minutes, Chandler's waiting paid off as he saw Francisco come dashing over to him; the thirteen-year-old boy was also alone, so Chandler figured that he would tell some of his (Francisco's) friends about the info later. Closing the book he had brought with him to skim through as he waited, Chandler gave Francisco a bit of a self-amused smile. "It took you long enough to get here," Chandler said as he held up one of his wrists, which had a watch on it. "And here I was beginning to think that you were going to stand me up at the park," Chandler continued, "But I'm glad to see that you cared enough to come by."

"Save it," Francisco said, his tone making it clear he didn't want to be jerked around, "Now then, Ross, you said that you know who it was that ratted my team out to the officials at that game from a while ago. Who is it?"

Smiling a bit, Chandler fished out a photo from his right back pocket on his pants; it was a photo of the _actual_ Ross. Showing the photo to Francisco, Chandler said, "This kid. I don't know what his name is, but this is without a doubt the kid who I saw go into your team's locker room before running out to get ahold of the officials."

The thirteen-year-old boy got a good look at this photo of the real Ross. "…Huh, now I know who my teammates and I ought to look out for," Francisco remarked, his eyes wincing in a manner suggesting that a vengeful plan was already forming in his head.

"I've actually seen him a few times before, as a matter of fact," Chandler went on, "I usually see him pester this one girl named Astrid Ace. He keeps trying to creep on her, from what I've heard about the matter."

"…One of the Aces?" Francisco remarked, a confused and curious look on his face.

Nodding in the affirmative, Chandler said, "In fact, the guy works on Astrid like clockwork. He's always seen trying to bother her at seven in the evening on Saturdays in the residential area of Royal Woods, while Astrid and some of her younger siblings are walking some pets for their older siblings." This part was also true; the red-headed boy knew that Astrid and some of her younger siblings always walk pets belonging to some of their older siblings at seven in the evening every few nights, with Saturdays being guaranteed. Chandler knew this because he and Ross met up with each other multiple times as they came up to Astrid to flirt with her.

"…Today is Saturday," Francisco remarked, dawning realization hitting him.

"Then you better move fast," Chandler said, "Because it's a bit of a walk from here to the residential area of Royal Woods, and it's already a few minutes past six. I'm pretty sure you and your friends on your baseball team don't want to pass up a chance to teach that kid a lesson for ratting you guys out."

"Damn straight," Francisco replied as he fished out his cell phone, "Thanks for the tip, Ross." The thirteen-year-old boy then proceeded to walk away as he pulled up a number from his contact list on his phone.

After Francisco was gone, Chandler smiled to himself. "…_Like killing two birds with one stone_," the red-headed boy thought as he turned around and proceeded to leave the park.

* * *

It was just shortly after seven in the evening in the residential area of Royal Woods. Astrid Ace, alongside her younger brothers Andy and Argent and younger sister Anna, were walking pets that belonged to their older siblings. There were only two pets that were being walked, which are, surprisingly enough, a fox and a skunk, with the fox being walked by Astrid and the skunk being walked by Argent.

"I still don't see why Allison won't let us walk Fenrir for her," Andy complained, sounding mildly annoyed, "He'd be great to have along with us."

"It would take all four of us working together on just Fenrir to keep him from dragging around whoever was walking him," Argent remarked to his older brother. Giving Andy a dry aside glance, the eight-year-old Ace boy said, "Do you _want_ to be dragged around by a very powerful animal that outweighs you?"

Nodding in agreement with Argent, Astrid said, "He's got a point, Andy. Besides which." Trailing off a bit, the white-haired Ace girl crouched down and gently ruffled the top of the head of the fox she was walking. "Kyubi and Spirit are much calmer than Fenrir. Neither of them ever try to drag anyone-"

"Hey cutie, fancy running into you," a male voice called out, cutting Astrid off midsentence.

Sighing in a mildly annoyed tone, Astrid muttered to herself, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" Astrid stood back up as she, her younger siblings and the pets that they were walking saw Ross approach them. It was clear from the look on his face that Ross was intending to try and flirt with Astrid, something that the white-haired Ace girl was NOT looking forward to. Seeing the blonde-haired conceited boy getting closer, Astrid asked, "What do you want now?"

"What?" Ross replied in a mock-wounded tone, "Can't I just come over and ask how you've been doing? I'm pretty sure that even a girl as cute as you has her fair share of problems." As Ross proceeded to flirt with her, Astrid found herself suddenly wishing that Allison did allow her and the younger siblings to bring Fenrir with them. "Anyway," Ross said as he proceeded to continue with what he was doing, "Since I have you here, how's about you and I-"

"Hey, blonde brat!" a somewhat older male voice call out, making Ross, the Ace siblings and the two pets look over and see a group of about eight young teens come walking over; one of these young teens was Francisco, who was the one who had called out. Ross and the others could tell that these teens were NOT in a good mood. The pets that Astrid and her siblings had with them began to cower out of fright, having gotten an idea that things were about to go south.

When the group of young teens got close enough, an African American boy in the group pointed to the Aces and said, "You four get yourselves and your animals out of here. My friends and I want to have a little chat with your blonde friend here."

"Hang on," Argent began in a mildly suspicious tone, "What do you guys have-"

"As you gentlemen wish," Astrid said to the African American teen, cutting Argent off midsentence as she picked up the fox and carried it like it was a small dog. After having Andy do the same with the skunk, Astrid said to the group of young teens, "You all stay safe, now!" Turning around Astrid proceeded to walk away, with her siblings following behind her.

Ross was, admittedly, a little on the dumbfounded side as he watched Astrid collect her siblings and the pets before hightailing it out of there. Turning his attention back around, Ross saw to his immediate concern that the young teens had him more or less surrounded. The blonde-haired conceited boy figured that trying to talk his way out of this was his best shot, as trying to run away clearly wasn't going to work for him. "Umm," Ross began, sounding somewhat nervous, "Is there anything that I can help you guys with?"

"Yeah," the same African American boy remarked, "How's about you go back in time and keep yourself from going into our locker room, finding our stuff, and ratting us out to the officials at our last baseball game?!"

"…Que?" Ross replied, having absolutely no clue at all about what the African American boy was talking about.

A Caucasian boy, one with black hair in a medium-long straight style, in the group scoffed in an annoyed tone. "Oh, don't go playing dumb with us, you little brat," the Caucasian boy sneered, "We already know it was you who ratted our team out, getting us disqualified from that game and barred from playing for the rest of the season!"

"You also got the trophy we won at the end of the last season revoked," another Caucasian boy, this one with bright, vibrant orange-red hair, snapped at Ross, who was growing more and more worried by the second. As he was beginning to get crowded by the young teens, Ross began to try and talk them down, but to no avail.

After the first punch was thrown by the African American boy, colliding into the side of Ross's face, chaos ensued. Ross tried to cry out, but his mouth was covered by the hand of one of the young teens. The conceited blonde boy was scared out of his mind by what was happening to him; he even began to fear the worst. Thankfully, a shout from an angry middle-age woman got the attention of the boys, making them all run away, leaving the beaten Ross just lying there. Due to how quickly everything happened, Ross didn't get a good look at any of his assailants, and the woman wasn't wearing her glasses, so she didn't get a good look, either.

...Luckily for them, Chandler was waiting and hiding nearby, never once having been spotted by anyone. What's more is that he recorded a video of everything on his phone, a video that he was planning to get out to as many different outlets as soon as possible.

* * *

Even with Chandler's video, there were no clear cut answers as to the identities of the specific young teens who ganged up on Ross. But suspicion was being thrown around, and since more than a fair number of Royal Woods locals knew that the teens were all from the recently barred blue baseball team, specific kids from that team who were known well enough were given even MORE disdain than usual.

Francisco's dad was even harder on Francisco, even though he had no way of being able to tell for sure if the thirteen-year-old boy did in fact take part in the beating that was recorded on video and uploaded to various sources (the video had been recorded from a bit of a distance, and at a time when there wasn't as much light out as usual). To make matters worse, Francisco's dad's boss not only saw the video as well, but could tell that it was Francisco's team that ganged up on that innocent kid; this was part of why Francisco's dad anted up on being a hard-ass.

As for Chandler, he was in a pretty good mood; not only did he get his main rival for Astrid's affections beaten basically for free, but he screwed over Francisco's dad, costing them an a fair bit of face. The red-headed boy made Francisco's dad look bad (as the dad of a boy who apparently takes part in gang-style beatings) while making his own dad, Mr. McCann, look good, bringing Chandler's ultimate goal one step closer to fruition.

Chandler, as he played on his Playtendo Swap Lite up in his bedroom, overheard his dad downstairs practically bragging about how his rival for that promotion at work is losing more of the big boss's trust, effectively meaning that he himself is getting more of the big boss's trust. "_Yeah_, _just keep doing what you do_, _dad_," Chandler thought as he lowered the volume of his game so he could listen in a bit better on what was going on down the ground floor.

"_Just keep doing what you do_."

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TEN

Author's note:

Just because Chandler is no longer antagonistic towards Lincoln does not mean that he is no longer antagonistic at all. Chandler still has his rivalry against Francisco to deal with, after all, and an antagonist that attains his ends by use of guile and subterfuge rather than straight up physical force is a rather appealing type of antagonist in my opinion. Anyway, the main plot will resume next time, with a few updates to comply with the changes that have been made to the story from its original form.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter eleven: Changes in progress

Bobby Santiago, a Hispanic teen that's known for working many jobs, was looking up into the night sky in his hometown of Royal Woods, Michigan one early night as he sat cross-legged on the patio in his family's backyard. The stars had just started coming out, the air was cool…just inhaling through his nose gave the Santiago teen a sense that he was alive. Bobby opened his eyes after inhaling and exhaling, and as he looked up into the starry night sky once again, he couldn't help but wonder…would he have been able to enjoy nights such as this if he, his mother Maria and younger sister Ronnie Anne had moved in with their relatives in Great Lakes City?

Don't get Bobby wrong, he loves his family dearly. In fact, his questioning about the possible move had nothing to do with the Casagrandes; Great Lakes City was far noisier than Royal Woods, which meant that the Hispanic teen wouldn't have been able to enjoy nights such as this. Also, Great Lakes City was getting rather dangerous, what with the local violent youth gang running around, trying to make the city into their personal stomping grounds; there was also the issue of that violent vigilante, Broken Mirror, who went around killing the members of the gang.

Granted, neither the gang nor Broken Mirror have done anything in a while, so a relative peace had settled in Great Lakes City. But the fact that a violent and lethal vigilante is still technically operating in the city still remains. Furthermore, Bobby overheard Maria to her brother (Bobby's uncle) on the phone yesterday about some rather troubling developments in Great Lakes City as of late; the city's citizens of Hispanic heritage are on the receiving end of some less-than-stellar treatment from other racial groups, mostly just African Americans and Caucasians using race as an excuse to vent their frustrations with how Great Lakes City is being run.

Although the bulk of the danger in Great Lakes City seems to have faded out by this point, there was still that underlying hint of danger to address. And now racial tension is being mixed in? Gently shaking his head, Bobby looked up into the sky once again, letting out a resigned sigh. Given what was currently going on over in Great Lakes City, what with violent youth gangs running amok, dangerous vigilantes who took things to logical extremes, and now racial tension, the Hispanic teen was glad that his adorable little sister (Ronnie Anne is adorable no matter how many times she may try to deny it) was not growing up in such a hostile environment. Bobby feared that, with the environment being such a toxic influence over in the city, Ronnie Anne might develop something of a mean streak or, worse yet, become a bully.

Yes, Bobby decided with a gentle nod in the affirmative to himself. The choice to stay here in Royal Woods was a good one, as it was a far less toxic place. …But it still had its troubles, Bobby realized. With a regretful sigh, the teen who worked many jobs reflected upon what has recently happened with the Louds, the family that his beloved girlfriend Lori belongs to.

Roughly two months prior to Bobby's family deciding not to move after all, Lori's younger and only brother, Lincoln, ran away from home due to how four of his sisters were treating him at the time. It was to Bobby's great relief that Lori was not one of those four. However, Lori and the rest of the family were duped by the four sisters who Lincoln had named at Bobby's request into thinking that their mistreating of Lincoln was merely some sort of game. As such, the family members that were tricked still feel guilty over what had happened.

From what Lori had told Bobby on the matter, her family is in the process of trying to reconcile with the white-haired boy, in the hopes that they could all be a family once more. The last time that Bobby heard about any of that, Lincoln had so far reconciled with three of his sisters. Bobby hoped for the Louds' sake that they will all make up for what they had done to Lincoln, that he would be able to let go of what had happened, that at peace with himself.

It's going to be a slow and steady process for the Louds, but with three down so far, Bobby is liking the odds, especially considering how two of the three sisters that's reconciled with Lincoln are two of the four who compelled him to run away in the first place. That has got to be as good of a sign as any.

"Are you okay, Bobby?" a young female voice said from behind the Hispanic teen, making him turn and see his little sister Ronnie Anne standing there behind him, her form standing out against the open sliding glass door that led into the Santiago house's kitchen.

"It's nothing, Nie-Nie," Bobby replied. Turning back around, Bobby looked up into the starry night sky once again. "It's just…" Bobby went on, "…It's just that it sucks with how raw of a deal Lincoln got, what with him running away and why he did so."

"Yeah, I still wanna give each of Lincoln's responsible sisters a bloody nose," Ronnie Anne remarked in a mildly huffy tone as she sat down on the patio next to her older brother. With a chuckle, the Hispanic girl added, "While we're on the subject, I heard that Lincoln's younger sister who likes taking part in pageants tried to gouge out one of Lynn's eyes."

"Oh, I think that's Lola who you're talking about," Bobby remarked, "I'm not entirely sure myself, though. I'll ask Lori later if I remember." After that, the two Santiago siblings, older brother and younger sister, looked up into Royal Wood's beautiful starry night sky for a few moments before any of them said anything else.

"…Do you think he'll be okay, Bobby?" Ronnie Anne asked, more than a hint of concern in her tone, "You know, Lincoln."

"…To be honest, I have no clue, Nie-Nie," the teen who worked many jobs replied in a gentle, understanding tone, shaking his head gently as he did so, "But if what Lori's been telling me is correct, then Lincoln is on the right track to recovering."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Ronnie Anne said with an annoyed look on her face, "I still can't believe that Lame-o let both Luan _and_ Lola off the hook."

With an understanding sigh, Bobby said, "Sis, this is the bro's deal that he has to work with. If he feels that one of his family members who wronged him has done enough to make up for their part in what happened, then he'll think he's ready to reconcile with said person."

"…" the Hispanic tomboy looked to the ground on her left, contemplating what her older brother had just said. Looking up from the ground and over to where Bobby sat, Ronnie Anne said, "…I still don't like what happened to Lincoln, though."

"Heh," Bobby chuckled in a mildly amused tone, "You really do like Lincoln, don't you?" As Ronnie Anne's face started to redden a bit out of embarrassment, Bobby went on in the same amused tone, "You know, Nie-Nie, there is this little thing that's known as double in-laws, which essentially says that even if Lori and I tie the knot, you and Lincoln can still-"

"BOBBY!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed, both her face and her tone clearly conveying that she was very much embarrassed by the teasing (that's what it clearly was) from Bobby. Turning around to see the look on his little sister's face, the Hispanic teen could not help but let out an amused laugh, which made Ronnie Anne blush with embarrassment even more than she already was.

* * *

The following day, Lincoln Loud was at the local park, sitting on one of the benches and trying to relax. Lincoln's younger sister Lola went with her white-haired older brother to the park so that she could play in on the jungle gym. Seeing his little sister having fun made Lincoln feel at peace. The white-haired boy let out a sigh; it was not content or resigned, but rather somewhere in between those two feelings.

As Lincoln relaxed, he heard some kids at something of a distance away, talking to each other. Looking over, Lincoln saw that it was two kids approximately his age; one was an African American girl, and the other was a Hispanic boy. The first words Lincoln was able to hear from that conversation was when the girl said, "…they leave Astrid alone already? I'm pretty sure that she made it clear that she doesn't like either of them."

"It takes forever for things to get through the thick skulls of jerks such as Chandler and Ross," the boy replied to his friend, his tone showing that he was agreeing with her.

Leaning back a bit more in his seat on the bench, Lincoln turned his head to face the direction his younger sister was in more directly. "_Oh_," Lincoln thought to himself, "_They_'_re_ _talking about Chandler and Ross_,_ and how they give Astrid the creeps_." News like that was nothing new to the white-haired boy, so he was going to get back to relaxing. However, something that he heard the African American girl say caught his attention.

"Since we're on the subject of Chandler," the girl said to her friend, "Did you know that Chandler's dad and Francisco's dad are competing with each other for that head supervisor spot at the local sewage treatment plant where my mom works?"

With a confused look on his face, the boy said, "…Who's Francisco again?"

"He's this somewhat older kid who belongs to that baseball team that was discovered to have committed multiple instances of cheating a short while ago," the girl said as she began to explain, "From what I heard, Francisco himself didn't take part in any of the cheating." With a nod, the girl added, "I was at that game myself, since my older brother belonged to the team that opposed Francisco's team in that game. My brother was, and still kind of is, mildly annoyed at the fact that his team won by default when the other team's cheating was revealed."

"Oh!" the boy said in a tone of realization, "Now I remember who you're talking about! Yeah, to be honest, I'm not too sure if Francisco was telling the truth." With a gentle shake of his head, the boy continued, "So I'm guessing that things are going to develop into a sort-of Francisco vs. Chandler kind-of deal here?"

With a nod in the affirmative, the girl said, "From what I'm hearing about it, some boys from Francisco's baseball team got into trouble because of that video that someone took on their phone, and Chandler's already taking advantage of it." With a gentle shake of her head, the girl said, "If either Chandler or Francisco do something good or bad, it will reflect in an appropriate manner on their family. Their respective dads, to be particular."

"Yeah, I'm going to stay clear away from all of that, thank you very much," the boy remarked, "If those two end up ruining each other, then I want to steer clear of it." The girl nodded in agreement as she and her friend walked off to somewhere else. When the two kids were gone, Lincoln let out a sigh that clearly sounded like he was pondering what was going on.

The respective dads of Chandler and Francisco were competing with each other at work to get a new position, and that competition was trickling down to Chandler and Francisco themselves? If this meant that Chandler would leave him alone, then Lincoln would welcome it with open arms. The only concerns that the white-haired boy had in this was how it might affect Lynn; granted, Lincoln was still rather upset with his athletic ex-sister, but this deal with Chandler was going to involve Lynn's ex-crush. How would the proud athlete react when she hears that her ex-crush is going to have something of a rivalry with the one of the conceited sonsabitches that goes to the elementary school, same as Lincoln?

Knowing Lynn, she'd probably offer to pummel Chandler for Lincoln, and all that he would have to do was ask her. She might even throw in pummeling Francisco pro bono.

Shaking his head gently to rid his mind of that thought, Lincoln took his phone out to check the time. Seeing the time, Lincoln got up off of the bench. "Hey Lola!" Lincoln called out, "It's getting a bit late! We ought to be heading back!"

* * *

That evening over at the Loud family residence, Lincoln was sitting on the floor in Lori and Leni's room, as Lori had assembled all of the Loud kids for a meeting. "Okay everyone, this is literally the deal that we're working with right now," the oldest Loud sister said as she began the meeting, "My friends on the varsity golf team and I are still trying to convince Allison to join our team. Although only Leni, Luna, Luan and I go to Royal Woods High, thus putting us in the same school as Allison, if any of you have any ideas that can help, it would be really awesome."

"Why exactly do you want Anna's older sister to join the varsity golf team again?" Lola asked, a mildly confused look on her face as she raised a hand.

"Whenever the girls on the team and I can convince Allison to play a round with us, Allison literally scores nothing but holes in one," Lori replied, "I'm not sure if that's just skill or an obscene amount of luck, but if the team had a player like Allison, then there's literally no way that we would ever lose to the team of another school."

"…Isn't Allison the girl that you borrowed a specific golf club from a short while ago?" Lincoln asked, a curious look with a mild hint of suspicion on his face.

"Yes, Lincoln," Lori replied with a nod in the affirmative, "Allison is the person that I borrowed that golf club from.

"Isn't Allison also the older sister of me and Ronnie Anne's friend Astrid?" Lincoln went on.

"That's correct," Lori replied.

"…Maybe if Allison sees some of us getting along with her siblings," Lincoln began to explain, "Then she may be less opposed to joining the team. I mean, I'm friends with Astrid, and from what Lola has told me, she and Lana are friends with Astrid and Allison's sister Anna."

"Hmm," Lori began as she considered what Lincoln said, "That's literally not a bad idea at all, Lincoln. Thanks."

"And while we're on the subject of Allison and her siblings," Lincoln said, "I think that we might have to inform Allison about how there are these two boys at my school that keep flirting with Astrid, and that the flirting gives Astrid the creeps, and that regardless of what she tries, Astrid can't get either of the boys to leave her alone."

"Wait, I thought you said that Astrid has a crush on either Clyde or Zach," Luan remarked in a mildly confused tone.

"I'm not talking about either Clyde or Zach," Lincoln explained, "The boys that I'm talking about are those jerks Chandler and Ross."

After making a surprised sounding grunt, Lori said, "Wait a minute, there are TWO boys that are bothering Astrid?" Lincoln nodded in the affirmative to Lori's question. "Hmm," Lori continued, "From what I heard on the matter from Allison's brother Aggro, I assumed that there was only one boy who's been bothering Astrid, and Aggro told me he's taken care of the matter." Pulling out her smartphone, Lori said, "I'm going to need you all to literally give me a minute here. I'm going to call Allison."

Everyone watch as Lori dialed up a number, then as the call tried to go through, Lori held the phone to the right side of her head. "…Allison?" Lori said into her phone, "Yeah, it's me, Lori. …No, I'm not calling you in an attempt to get you to join the varsity golf team. The reason that I'm calling you is that I've just been informed by one of my siblings that there's apparently a second boy at Royal Woods Elementary School by the name of Ross who is bothering your younger sister Astrid with flirting that she isn't comfortable with. Are you aware of-"

The oldest Loud sister was cut off, and she had to hold her phone as far away as possible, as angry shouting erupted from the phone. The shouting clearly sounded female, and from a person roughly the same age as Lori. It also sounded like it came from a mighty and powerful warrior woman with very strong Viking-like undertones to it. When the shouting died down, Lori held the phone back to the right side of her head. "…We'll tackle this tomorrow," Lori remarked, "It's a bit late in the evening to do anything about it. …Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

After Lori ended the call, she slipped the phone back into her pocket then turned to face Lincoln. "…I'm guessing that Allison and her siblings didn't know about Ross," Lori remarked.

"Well Astrid did tell me that she was having trouble getting the point across to someone who can help her," the white-haired boy pointed out, "Although I think that Astrid had said that she has not told any of her older siblings yet."

"Well then," Lori remarked to the Loud kids as a whole, "Now that we got that part of this meeting out of the way, I believe that we need to go onto the next topic…"

* * *

After the meeting had ended, everyone filed out of the room aside from Lori and Leni, because the meeting took place in their room. As everyone left, Lincoln was met up by Luan and Lola. "I think I remember hearing Anna saying something about some boys in your grade have been bothering her older sister Astrid," Lola said to her older brother, "I'm guessing that what she was saying is true, then."

"Yeah," Lincoln remarked with a nod in the affirmative.

"If a boy was bothering any of us the way those two boys are bothering Anna's older sister," Lola continued, "Would you do anything about it?"

"Provided that I knew what was going on, yes," Lincoln replied, then to both Lola and Luan continued, "What Chandler and Ross have been doing is not something that I'd ever wish on either you or Lily. Or any of your sisters, for that matter. However, I have to know that it's happening, so if something like that pops up, let me know right away, alright?"

"Of course we'd talk about something like that if it was happening, Lincoln," Luan said, "These jerks Chandler and Ross that you're talking about sounds like total creeps. Unlike Benny, of course, because he's by no means like those two little jerks."

"Yeah, and Winston's a perfect gentleman," Lola added. As Lincoln, Lola and Luan made their way down the hallway, they bumped into Lynn, who had just come out of the bathroom. Upon seeing the athletic Loud girl, Lincoln remembered another part of what he had heard at the park earlier that day. A part that he was not quite sure how Lynn would react upon hearing. Well, there was only one way to check to see how his sporty ex-sister would react to the news.

"Hey, Lynn," the white-haired boy said, getting Lynn's attention.

"What's up, Lincoln?" Lynn asked, sounding a bit surprised that Lincoln was actually willingly talking to her right now, and for seemingly no reason.

"You remember what I brought up during the meeting a few minutes ago?" Lincoln began, "You know, about that Chandler guy at my school."

"…I take it that you want me to pummel him for you?" Lynn half-asked half-offered.

"No, no," Lincoln replied, "That's not it." With a bit of a resigned sigh, Lincoln continued, "When I was at the park earlier keeping an eye on Lola, I overheard these two kids saying that Chandler is getting into something of a rivalry with, well…_him_."

Gasping in a shocked tone that carried a hint of worry, Lynn said, "That little snot is going to try to mess with Ulfric?"

"No, no, not Ulfric," Lincoln replied with a gentle shake of his head, "I mean the guy that you used to like _before_ you started liking Ulfric."

Lynn's expression turned from one of worry to one of indifference. "…Oh," the sporty Loud girl said in an indifferent tone, "You mean Francisco." With a gentle shake of her head, Lynn asked, "Well why didn't you just say so, Lincoln?"

"Given what you did to Lori when she said his name out loud the _last _time…" Lincoln remarked in a knowing tone.

"Oh yeah, that," Lynn replied, sounding and looking a bit sheepish, "Well, I…I was in a really bad mood that day because of what had happened. I'm over what that cheating enabler did, as well as the jerk himself. Besides which, I've got a new boy at my school who I'm focused on." Giving Lincoln a curious look, Lynn asked, "Why would you worry so much about me when it comes to this bit of news, Lincoln?"

"Since this matter involves your previous crush, I'm worried that it might have had some sort of an impact on you," the white-haired boy replied, "I wouldn't want to see you suffer again like you did the day you came back from the game that day."

Lincoln's words made the athletic Loud girl feel a bit guilty, given that Lincoln still hasn't forgiven her yet for her part in driving him to run away. Even so, they also touched Lynn's heart, while also giving her just a bit of confidence that Lincoln will one day acknowledge her as his sister once more. With a small yet appreciative smile, Lynn said, "Thanks, Lincoln."

The white-haired boy didn't say anything, although he did nod in acknowledgement of Lynn's response. After that, Luan and Lola went off to their respective bedrooms to go to bed. When they were gone, Lincoln turned back around to face Lynn. "…We ought to take a cue from them and go to bed," the white-haired boy said to his ex-older sister.

Lynn nodded in the affirmative, happy that her younger brother was, however briefly it may have been for because he has yet to actually reconcile with her, acknowledging her once again. The sporty Loud girl walked over to the bedroom she shared with Lucy and, standing in the doorway, watched as Lincoln continued to make his way down the hall to his bedroom. Lynn had no idea how she would do so, but she swore to herself that she would, no matter how long it would end up taking her, eventually become Lincoln's sister again.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER ELEVEN

Author's note:

The addition of the OC Ross and the change in the order in which Lincoln reconciles with his sisters has had a noticeable difference here, but I feel that the spirit's more or less still the same. Anyway, next time there will be some familiar development for Lori as she helps to put an end to the harassment a certain mixed-heritage eleven-year-old girl is receiving, although she and her friend will be confronting someone new.

Different problem, different brat, same friend, same outcome.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twelve: Will of the First Born

Ross, along with two of his friends, were hanging out in Ross's backyard on a well enough day in their hometown of Royal Woods, Michigan. "…Wait a minute," said one of Ross's friends, "A group of eight boys from that recently disqualified youth baseball team ganged up on you?"

"Yeah, man," Ross replied with a nod in the affirmative, "It all happened so fast that I didn't get all that good a look at any of them. Thankfully there's that video of the attack floating around, and the police are making use of it, but it is slow going right now."

Gesturing to Ross, the other friend asked, "Are you going to be okay, man? I mean, something like that is NOT something that one can simply sweep under the rug."

"Yeah, I know," the conceited blonde-haired boy remarked. Giving his friends a knowing look, Ross added, "I occasionally wake up in a cold sweat, ever since that attack."

"Is there anything either of us can do?" the first friend asked, "Ross, there is no way that we-"

"Hey, Ross!" an adult woman's voice called out, cutting off the first friend in the process.

"Yeah, mom?" Ross called back, "What is it?"

"There are these two older girls that are asking for you," Ross's mom called back, "They say that they're high schoolers related to some kids you know from your school."

Curious about the surprise visitors that he's gotten, Ross decided to go check out what's going on. "High schoolers are asking for me?" the conceited blonde-haired boy said aloud to himself in a mildly confused tone, "What could this be about?"

"Doesn't sound like it makes a lot of sense, dude," Ross's first friend remarked in a tone that showed that he agreed with Ross like the good friend that he is. Ross nodded once to the first friend in an agreeing manner before heading into his family's house, leaving his two friends that he had over to wait in the backyard.

…

Upon entering his family's living room, Ross saw his mom waiting in the living room with two high school-aged girls. The first high school girl looked vaguely familiar to the conceited blonde-haired boy; did she work at Gus' Games n' Grub or something? The other high school girl, however, was no one that Ross recognized.

About as tall as the girl who she came with, this other high school girl had long yellow-blonde hair that was in twin pigtails that draped a bit down her back. The girl wore a red Sherpa hat with tassels hanging off of the ear flaps, a dark green somewhat baggy t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, white sneakers, and, tied around her waist, a brown leather coat. The neck hole of the jacket was around the girl's waist so that her legs were partly inside of the coat, rather than the coat just covering the girl's rear end. There was also a white cloth bandage over the bridge of the girl's nose, although it gave off the aura that it was just there for aesthetic reasons, that it wasn't there to nurse any actual injury. Lastly, the girl had a thin, rectangular leather case over her back, peeking out from behind her right shoulder and left hip.

"You are the one named Ross, are you not?" the unfamiliar girl said as she pointed an accusing finger at the conceited blonde-haired boy. Ross was a bit intimidated by the girl's voice, which for some reason reminded him of Vikings storming the land and raiding the shore. That, plus the clearly grumpy aura the older girl gave off, tipped Ross off right away that he might be in some serious trouble. Oh well, it shouldn't be too hard for him to weasel his way out of whatever mess was involved, right? Especially considering that he was still recovering from the posse attack that he had gone through a short while ago.

"Yeah, that would be me," Ross replied with a nod, "Why do you ask? Is something wrong?"

"You are familiar with Astrid Ace, right?" the older girl continued, her tone and expression not changing in the slightest.

"Well of course I'm familiar with Astrid," Ross replied, surprised that this older girl apparently knew who Astrid was, "She's the cutest girl at my school." Giving the older girl a curious look, the conceited blonde-haired boy asked, "Why, is Astrid in some sort of trouble?"

"No, but I would literally say that you are," the first older girl said.

"Hey wait," Ross began as he turned to face the first girl, "Aren't you that one girl who works at Gus'? What was your name…Laila?"

"My name is Lori, not Laila," the first girl said, a mild hint of annoyance in her tone, "And yeah, I do work at Gus'. But that's not the point here."

"Then what IS the point here?" Ross asked, a mild amount of accusation and suspicion in his tone, "Why are you and this other girl here?"

"I was informed by my friend Lori here that you have recently taken to consistently bothering my younger sister Astrid with flirting that she does not want," the mystery girl replied, snapping Ross's attention back onto her, "Is this true, yes or no?"

"What? Of course I'm not bothering Astrid," Ross defended, "And for the record, she totally likes it when I flirt with her."

"Funny," the mystery girl scoffed in a grumpy tone, "Because after I was informed of what was going on, I asked Astrid about it myself, and she confirmed that you have been bothering her every time you see her at school, and she does NOT like it when you flirt with her."

"You're clearly overreacting," Ross dismissed in a casual tone, "There's no way that Astrid doesn't like me. I mean, what about me is there that she doesn't like?"

"…I shall only give you one warning, little one," the mystery girl said to Ross, her brow furrowing a bit in simmering anger, "You shall stay away from my younger sister Astrid or-"

"What?!" Ross interrupted, clearly not happy with the idea of being told to stay away from the cutest girl at his school, "What do you mean I have to stay away from As-" This time, it was Ross who was cut off when the mystery girl stomped her right foot forward so suddenly and hard that Ross, Ross's mom and even Lori all flinched a bit out of surprise.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT ME, YOU LITTLE TROLL!" the mystery girl bellowed angrily at Ross, clearly angry to have been interrupted, "YOU WILL HOLD YOUR TONGUE AND LET ME SPEAK! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Lori said to her friend, getting the other older girl to back off a bit from Ross, "Easy there, Allison. There's no need to go all Thor the Mighty, God of Thunder on the kid. I mean, he's roughly Lincoln's age, for crying out loud."

"…" After considering Lori's suggestion for a moment, Allison said, "…Very well. But he _will_ be keeping away from my younger sister." Turning her head slightly so that her gaze was barely just on Ross, Allison said in a threatening tone, "I'm pretty sure your parents would hate to hear that you've been bothering an innocent girl at your school, after all."

"I'm really sorry about how my son has been bothering your younger sister," Ross's mother said to Allison in an apologetic tone, "I'll speak with my husband about this when he gets back from work later this afternoon."

Allison nodded in acknowledgement of Ross's mom's apology. "I would hate to have to come back and redo this conversation with you," Allison replied, "You seem too kind a person to have to go through it. It's a shame your son doesn't take after you in that regard." The two high school girls turned to leave, with Allison saying, "Take care."

…

"…I still don't see why Astrid seemed so hesitant that I'd be the one to deal with that little troll who's been bothering her at school," Allison remarked as she and Lori drove back to the part of the neighborhood that they came from, with Lori in the driver's seat of Vanzilla and Allison in the front passenger seat, "I mean, Aggro handled that Chandler brat, so what's wrong with me getting that Ross troll to back off? I even got an apology out of the boy's mother."

"Yeah, I literally can't fathom the reason myself," Lori said, the sarcasm in her tone going by unnoticed by her friend in the passenger seat. After Lori's remark, both girls were silent for a bit. As she concentrated on the road, Lori allowed her mind to drift, drift to things that have been bugging her, such as how Lincoln ran away and why, and to miraculously finding Lincoln in the city that Bobby's family almost moved to.

And how she learned that Lincoln killed her in cold blood in a dream that he had a short while ago, a subconscious hint as to how truly upset he was with what had happened to him.

As Lori thought about this, her expression dropped from a neutral expression of someone concentrating on the road, to a resigned, almost sad look. Allison, who was mindlessly looking out the window, happened to turn and see this look that the oldest Loud sister had on her face. "…Something is bothering you, Lori, is it not?" the female Ace twin said, "Come on, I would be hearing about it."

"Your sister Astrid is eleven, right?" Lori asked.

"Yes," Allison replied in a mildly confused tone, "Although I fail to see how Astrid's age has anything to do with anything else."

"…My little brother's the same age," Lori began.

"Ah," the female Ace twin said in a tone of understanding, "I have heard that your younger brother Lincoln ran away a while ago, and that he has recently returned home to your family."

"Allison," the oldest Loud sibling went on, her tone sounding mildly conflicted, "How…how good of a relationship do you have with your siblings?"

"Hmm?" Allison replied in a mildly confused tone, "You mean to say how well I get along with all of my siblings?" After seeing the affirmative nod from Lori, Allison said, "Hmm, let me think about that. …Well, Aggro and I get along well enough. As well as twins who aren't the same gender as each other can get along, I mean."

"Yeah, I can just imagine what it would be like if either Lola or Lana was a boy while the other one was still a girl," Lori remarked dryly.

"As for the rest of my siblings," Allison went on, "Amy and I have gotten along as most would expect of us, although she still expects me to buy a replacement pet bed for Spirit after Fenrir tore up the last one. Alphonse and I seldom ever interact with each other directly, although I think it's safe to say that we're on good terms with each other. Astrid and I get along well enough, although ever since our father died in that accident five years ago, Astrid tends to seek out Aggro for pretty much everything."

"Maybe it's because Aggro doesn't regularly threaten to send people straight to Viking hell?" Lori deadpanned. Jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the backseat, where Allison's case that she had over her back was currently laying, Lori continued with a mild hint so suspicion in her tone, "I mean, we aren't going to play a round of golf today. Why'd you bring your golf club?"

"I have my reasons," the female Ace twin replied.

"Uhh huh," Lori said, "So anywho, back to business. How do you get along with the rest of your siblings?"

"Andy looks up to me," Allison began, "And out of all of my siblings, I would say that Andy takes the most after me." With a chuckle, Allison added, "Andy once told me this one story how he was holding his own against some notorious bully at his school until the principal came in and took said bully to the office."

"Uhh huh," Lori said. It did not surprise her that at least one of Allison's siblings took after her, at least to some extent. And bully-hunting sounds like it would be right up Allison's ally.

"Argent respects me, along with the fact that as I'm technically the oldest of my siblings, I have authority over managing the group as a whole when our mother isn't home," Allison went on.

"Oh yeah, you're a few minutes older than Aggro," Lori remarked. After a few seconds, Lori asked, "So, how do you manage your younger siblings when you're left in charge?"

"It varies from time to time," Allison began to explain, "Although the general thing I go for is that so long as everyone doesn't make a whole lot of noise and doesn't do anything that would warrant a visit from a police officer, then I won't put the fear of Odin into them." With a bit of a chuckle, the female Ace twin added, "I mean, it's not like I'm some sort of dictator who makes everyone sit in their rooms quietly and not allow them to do anything at all."

"Heh, yeah," Lori chuckled, her tone sounding partly nervous but overall guilty.

"The youngest of my siblings is Anna," Allison said as she finished talking about her younger siblings, "And she tends to stick close to Aggro, similar to Astrid."

"Well little girls have something of a tendency to view their older brothers as great, invincible heroes," Lori remarked, "Bobby's told me stories about how Ronnie Anne stuck to him like glue when she was much younger."

"I see," Allison said. Arching an eyebrow out of curiosity, Allison asked, "So Lori, what's with this sudden interest in how I get along with my siblings? Is it because some of them are friends with some of your siblings?"

"…Truthfully, my relationship with my younger siblings has been kind of rocky over the last couple of years," the oldest Loud girl admitted in a resigned tone that had just a hint of sadness to it, "I think that my connection to my younger siblings started to take a dip right around the same time that my popularity started to go up, back when you and I were twelve."

"Ah yes, I remember what happened back then," Allison remarked in a tone that radiated with a hint of fondness that came with recollecting the past, "The whole deal that led to you becoming the most popular girl in school. It stayed throughout middle school and accompanied you all the way to high school!" With a mildly curious look on her face, the female Ace twin asked, "Umm, was this dip that you speak of pre-make-over or post-make-over?"

"Post make-over," Lori replied instantly, "It was literally post-make-over."

"Hmm," Allison said, "You worry that your younger siblings don't like you." It was more a statement than a question.

"You don't know the half of it," Lori remarked, a hint of bitterness in her tone. Lori's expression became even sadder and resigned as she reflected upon Lincoln running away, especially on how she played a contributing role to prompting the white-haired boy to run away in the first place. Lori's change in expression did not go by unnoticed by Allison, who gave Lori's right shoulder a soft pat in a gesture of support.

"You are too hard on yourself," Allison said, "You're acting like Fenrir whenever he poops on the living room carpet."

"I'm sorry," Lori apologized, "It's just…it's just that I literally keep screwing up when it comes to trying to get along with all of my younger siblings."

"…Your siblings are aware that you love them," Allison began, "Are they not?"

"Of course they know," Lori said. After a couple of seconds, Lori added in a mildly unsure tone, "…Or at least, I hope that they know. I mean, I certainly haven't given them many reasons to think otherwise ever since I became and stayed popular."

"…You do love and care about your siblings, yes?" Allison asked.

"Of course I do!" Lori replied instantly.

The female Ace twin leaned back a bit as she crossed her arms over her chest, regarding Lori with a mildly amused look. "Well then, Lori," Allison remarked, "It's clear to me that you have to make it clear to your siblings that you do in fact care about them, and make sure that they don't forget it, either."

"…Yeah," Lori remarked as her spirits started to lift a bit, "That sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the tip, Allison." The female Ace twin nodded once in acknowledgement before both girls turned to face out the front window of Vanzilla. As the Loud family's ancient family van drove along the road, Lori said, "So Allison, your dog poops on the living room carpet as well?"

"The things that come out of Fenrir's rear can slay a dragon, I tell you," Allison remarked with a bit of a laugh in her tone.

"Feh, can't be any worse than my family's dog Charles," Lori said.

"Why?" Allison asked, "What kind of dog is this Charles of yours?"

"He's a Pitbull Terrier," the oldest Loud girl began to explain, "Although admittedly a fairly small one even though he's a little over four." With an eyebrow ached out of curiosity, Lori asked, "Why? What kind of dog is Fenrir?"

* * *

Later that evening, Lori was laying on her bed in her and Leni's room back at the Loud family residence. The oldest Loud sister was staring up at the ceiling above her bed while her ditzy younger sister worked away on something over at the sewing machine. Lori was thinking about what happened a few years ago, about how Royal Woods had very nearly changed for the worse. If someone were to try and stop what was going on back then, they would have had to put their reputation among the various social circles of Royal Woods middle and high school age students at considerable risk.

Since Lori didn't actually _have_ much of a reputation back then (as in none at all), she figured that she had nothing to lose. The efforts of the first-born Loud sibling had paid off, the day was saved, and she became popular, with the first thing happening being that some girls who wanted to bring Lori into their circle decided to give her a make-over, turning her into what she looked like today.

Lori couldn't help but wonder if that make-over from back then had done more than just change her physical appearance.

"There we go!" Lori heard Leni say cheerfully as the sounds of the sewing machine came to a stop. Getting up from her bed and looking over, Lori saw that her younger sister had finished yet another one of her fashion design projects. As always, the fashionable Loud sister's work was flawless, but Lori had no idea what Leni had just made. From the angle that Lori was looking at it from, the garment that Leni just made looked like some sort of waist-length sleeveless jacket.

"Leni, what is that supposed to be?" Lori asked as she pointed to the garment that her ditzy younger sister had just completed.

"Oh!" Leni said with a hint of surprise in her tone, "Lori, I totes forgot that you were even here! You were, like, awfully quiet for a while!" Getting up from her sewing machine, Leni showed Lori the garment that she had made. "It's a haori coat," the ditzy Loud sister explained, "I really like the one that Aggro wears, so I asked him about it, and he told me about haori coats. I looked them up on the internet, found a bunch of different kinds that all looked pretty, took some notes and made some sketches, and proceeded to make one for myself!"

Leni slipped her homemade haori on, twirled around in place, and said as she faced Lori, "So how about it, Lori? What do you think?"

"It's very lovely," Lori remarked, honestly impressed by her younger sister's work, "But isn't Aggro's a bit longer than this one that you made?"

"Yeah, but I thought the waist length ones that I saw were cuter," Leni explained, "Although if I had enough material for it, I'd totes go for making one as long as Aggro's." After taking her homemade haori off, Leni continued, "Hey Lori, while we're on the subject, what sort of music do you think Aggro likes?"

"This again?" Lori said, her tone sounding mildly unamused, "Seriously, Leni. Ever since you and Luna came to watch the golf game my team had before the game where I used Allison's golf club, you've been thinking about Aggro, rather than helping me figure out an idea on how I can convince Allison to join the varsity golf team. You need to focus!"

"Sorry," Leni replied in a mildly guilty tone, looking down to the floor in shame.

Lori mentally face-palmed upon seeing her younger sister's reaction to her snapping at her, realizing that she had, one again, just made one of her siblings upset, something that the oldest Loud sister was wanting to avoid. "No, Leni, no," Lori began in a gentle, apologetic tone, "It's not your fault. I'm just a little frustrated with things that are going on right now, and I snapped at you. I should be the one apologizing here, not you." Walking over to her ditzy younger sister, Lori stood in front of her, gently laid her hands down on Leni's shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Leni," Lori said.

With something of a cute giggle, Leni said, "Apology accepted." The ditzy Loud sister then threw her arms around Lori, drawing her into a hug. Lori did not know what to make of Leni randomly drawing her into a hug like this, but the hug did tell Lori one thing.

She was making more progress on reconnecting with her younger siblings.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWELVE

Author's note:

Lori is still concerned with trying to repair her sibling relationship with Lincoln, as he did just recently return after having run away from home, but that does not mean that she's going to simply ignore trying to rebuild bridges between her and her various sisters. Also, Lincoln didn't make a physical appearance in this chapter, but since this was a Lori-focused deal, I don't think that having Lincoln in it was an absolute necessity. Anywho, next time will see the main plot of this revamped story return, with a somewhat familiar vengeance.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter thirteen: Tired Athlete, part one

Lincoln Loud was sitting in the living room of his ex-family's house one day in Royal Woods, Michigan. He was skimming through a comic book while Lily, Lola and Luan, the only family members who the white-haired boy had reconciled with so far, were watching something on TV. Lincoln wasn't even paying attention to what the girls were watching, but the white-haired boy highly doubt that it was something other than a show that was along the lines of '_The Dream Boat_', a show that even Lincoln himself enjoyed.

When the show went to commercial break, the girls started talking amongst themselves. Well, Lola and Luan started to talk amongst themselves; Lily rolled over onto her back on the floor while trying to stick her left foot into her own mouth. "Hey Luan," Lola began, "Has anything interesting happening lately?"

"Lynn mentioned something about student body elections at Royal Woods Middle School," Luan began to explain, "I don't too know much beyond that, but I'm pretty sure that we can ask Lynn when she gets back from wherever it was that she went off to."

"Student body elections?" Lola repeated, her tone making it clear she was confused.

"Imagine if Royal Woods Middle School was the United States," Luan remarked, "And the students taking part in the student body elections are presidential candidates."

"…So, whoever wins the student body elections at Lynn's school becomes president of the students at the school?" Lola asked.

"Sort of," Luan replied while making the so-so gesture with her right hand, "Although it's a bit more complicated than that. Oh!" With a nod showing that she just remembered something, the comedic Loud sister continued, "Lynn did say that her friend Margo is running for student body president. Lynn also said that she and some of her and Margo's friends plan to-" The comedic Loud sister found herself cut off midsentence when the front door of the Loud family's house was thrown open, seeing Margo, Maya, Paula, Diane, Ulfric and a _very_ clearly steamed Lynn walk into the house.

"What in the hell does that bastard think he's doing?!" Lynn nearly exclaimed at the top of her lungs, "He's got some nerve!"

"Relax, Lynn," Margo said in a reassuring tone, hoping to calm down her friend, "There's no way that I can lose the elections to him, not with you, the rest of the girls here and Ulfric backing me up."

"She's got a point," Ulfric remarked to the sporty Loud sister, "And keep in mind that he still carries some of the stigma that resulted from when his team was disqualified from that one baseball game where they played against your team. I highly doubt that a lot of the students at our school will trust him."

Having heard the commotion that the various middle-schoolers were making, Lincoln and his three sisters looked over to see what was going on. "Hey Lynn," Lincoln called out, getting Lynn and her friends to turn and see Lincoln, Lily, Luan and Lola, "What's going on here? You guys sound like something dumb just happened."

"That's because something dumb _did_ just happen, Lincoln," Lynn replied, "That jerk Francisco is running in the student body elections at Royal Woods Middle School!"

"Really?" Lincoln said, surprised to hear of this turn of events. From what the white-haired boy could remember about him, Francisco did not seem like he'd be the kind of person to do something like compete in a student body election. Might Francisco's budding rivalry with Chandler have something to do with this?

"Well here's hoping that Margo creams him in the primaries," Lola said, pumping a fist into the air, "Jerks like Francisco are jerks!"

Chuckling a bit in an amused manner that carried a hint of appreciation for the support, Margo replied, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lynn's little sister."

"Is anyone else running in the student body elections?" Lincoln asked.

"A boy named Jack and a girl named Kendra," Paula replied, "And every person running besides myself has someone running with them as a running mate."

"You haven't picked your running mate yet, Margo?" Luan asked, looking a bit confused.

"Well I was thinking about asking Lynn if she was game," Margo remarked. Patting the sporty Loud sister on the shoulder, Margo continued, "I'm going to need all the backup I can get, and a girl as tough as Lynn sounds like the perfect backup to have."

"Ha, you flatter me," Lynn remarked, letting out a self-amused chuckle. Pounding a fist into her hand, Lynn continued, "Don't worry about a thing, Margo. You're going to cream that bastard in the primaries, just like Lola said."

"Okay, you guys," Paula said to her friends as she clapped her hands together, "We've got to plan out how Margo's going to win this thing!"

"You mean establish her campaign platform?" Lola asked.

"Yeah, that," Paula replied as she pointed in a commending manner at her younger sister. The six middle schoolers then went upstairs to one of the bedrooms to discuss the plan for Margo's bid to win the student body elections. After they were all gone, Lincoln and his sisters turned back around to face each other, aside from Lily who actually fell asleep.

"Wow, student body elections," Luan said, "Sounds like fun."

"Better you than me," Lincoln remarked dryly, "Sorry, but stuff like that just doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I don't really see myself as much of the type of person to run for any sort of office." Stretching a bit, the white-haired boy continued, "That's not to say that I'm not going to give support to Lynn's friend, though. And if the alternative is Chandler's new rival winning, then yeah, I'll be rooting for Margo." Hearing their brother say this brought a measure of relief to Lola and Luan, who both smiled. "But anyway, we ought to leave that business to Lynn and her friends," Lincoln said, "Lola and I go to the elementary school, and you Luan go to the high school. Lynn's school is practically a world away for all of us."

"Yeah, that does make sense," Lola replied as the show just got off of commercial break. Seeing that their show just came back on, Lola and Luan turned their attention to it. Lincoln, smiling in mild amusement at his sisters, picked his comic book back up and resumed reading. It was a new issue of Ace Savvy, and Lincoln wanted to make sure that he gave the latest issue of the world's savviest crime fighter's exploits a thorough read through.

* * *

"Hey, Lincoln! Do you want to come to my softball game today?"

Lynn had just caught her younger brother in the hallway at their family's house one morning before one of her sports games. Out of everyone that was in Lynn's family, Lincoln is the only one who has yet to come to one of her games to support her; Pop-Pop and even Aunt Ruth had come out to see one of Lynn's games before (this was before Pop-Pop met Gram-Gram). So naturally, the sporty Loud sister really wanted her younger brother to be there. Lynn noticed her brother grumble something to himself before he spoke up.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lincoln said, "I'm really sorry about this, Lynn, but I just can't. I've been to various events that our sisters have had non-stop ever since the beginning of this month, and I'm just plain exhausted. I was planning on just staying home today, read some comics, and maybe catch on some sleep that I've missed due to the aforementioned events that our sisters have had."

"Oh, come on!" Lynn said in a tone of complaint, "My team has a winning streak going here! Don't you want to see me cream the competition, Lincoln?"

"Maybe some other time, Lynn," the white-haired boy said, his tone sounding tired, "Just…just not today, alright?" The sporty Loud sister was annoyed, and a little bit dejected, that her little brother didn't want to come out to her game and be there to watch her shine. Lynn really wanted Lincoln to be there, even if she had to use the baseball bat she had with her to make him come, and Lynn, in a rare moment of weakness on her part, was very sorely tempted to use the bat in such a way.

…However, just as she began to raise her bat, the hitting end of the bat barely an inch above the hallway floor, Lynn suddenly stopped short when she realized just what she was about to do; she was about to _threaten_ her little brother, with physical violence no less, into doing something he just said he isn't in the mood to do. Lynn, with a degree of horror in her heart, realized that it made her no better than the various bullies that she protected her siblings from. The sporty Loud sister's grip on her bat's handle slipped, allowing the sports equipment to clatter to the hallway floor. The slipping of Lynn's bat caught Lincoln's attention, startling him just a little bit.

"Lynn?" Lincoln said in a mildly concerned tone as he regarded his athletic older sister, "Are you okay?"

"I…" Lynn began, but she stopped short, then furiously shook her head. Taking a breath to try and steady her nerves, Lynn said, "I'm sorry, Lincoln. Yeah, I understand that you want some time to unwind. Going to all of the events the rest of our sisters have had so far can be pretty tiring." The athletic Loud sister bent over to pick up her fallen bat, straightened up, then patted Lincoln on the shoulder. "…Yeah, hopefully you'll be able to come out to watch me cream the competition next time," Lynn said, "Sorry for trying to be pushy just now."

Lincoln was confused by Lynn's sudden change in attitude. But the apology, plus Lynn relenting and letting him unwind like he said he wanted to do, put a small but appreciative smile on the sole Loud boy's face. "Thanks, Lynn," Lincoln replied, "Good luck at your game today."

"Thanks, bro," Lynn replied with a smile as she headed downstairs to finish up getting ready to head off to her softball game. Although the sporty Loud sister may have wished that her little brother would have come out to the game to support her, she respected the fact that he needed some down time. After all, with a family as big as theirs, they can get worn out rather quick trying to support each other all the time. A bit of rest and relaxation was needed occasionally.

…

The softball game that day ended up in favor of the opposing team. As Lynn rode in the passenger seat of Vanzilla, bummed over her team's loss, she thought that maybe it was a good thing Lincoln wasn't there after all to see her make a fool of herself. Although…maybe if the white-haired boy _was_ there, then his presence might have been something of a good luck charm, giving Lynn just the luck boost that she needed for her team to-

No, that made no sense, Lynn thought as she shook her head to rid her mind of the trail of thought that it was about to go down. Before the game that her team lost today, Lynn's team had won six games in a row, and Lincoln didn't come out to see any of those games. Lincoln didn't come to the games where Lynn had won, and he certainly wasn't at the game today where she lost. That means that Lincoln's being at one of Lynn's game was irrelevant if her team won or lost a game.

"You okay, Junior?" Lynn Sr., the one who was driving Vanzilla at the time, asked as he noticed his sporty daughter and the child named after him shake her head, "You're not upset that your team lost, are you?"

"Well, I would be lying if said that I wasn't upset about losing today's game," Lynn admitted, "But I…I was about to blame Lincoln for my team losing." Sighing in a troubled tone, the thirteen-year-old said, "I was thinking that if Lincoln had been at the game today to support me, then my team wouldn't have lost. But we won the last six games before this one, and Lincoln wasn't at any of them."

"Well sport, your brother did have to go to some grave-digging competition that Lucy took part so he could support her there," Lynn Sr. began to explain, "And he also had to go to some fashion thing of Leni's that I believe your sister said was for charity, and then Lincoln went to that tournament where Lori's varsity golf team played against the varsity golf team of another school, so your brother understandably had quite a lot on his plate as of late." Noticing that his daughter still seemed a bit bummed, Lynn Sr. said, "There's always the next game, Lynn Jr."

"Dad, I…" the sporty Loud sister began, her voice begging to break out what clearly sounded like regret, "…I almost threatened Lincoln into coming to today's game."

"You almost did what?" Lynn Sr. said in a shocked tone, not believing what he had just heard.

"I almost threatened Lincoln!" Lynn exclaimed, the sheer volume of her exclaiming surprising her father a bit as tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes, "I kept getting annoyed with how Lincoln never came out to see any of my games, so I was going to threaten him into coming to the softball game today!" Curling up into a fetal position on the seat that she was sitting in, Lynn rest her forehead against her knees as she sobbed, "What's…what wrong with me, dad?"

"…Not as much as there would have been if you actually ended up going through with bullying your younger brother like that," Lynn Sr. remarked, "Junior, I can't say that I'm proud of what you were considering doing. Threatening your little brother, or any of your siblings, is one of the absolute last things that I ever want to hear about you doing." Lynn knew that her father would say something along these lines, although knowing that it would happen didn't make hearing about it any easier for her. It was also stinging for Lynn to hear her father refer to what she was considering doing to get Lincoln to come to the game as a form of bullying; she really _wasn_'_t_ any better than those bullies, after all.

"…But what I can say that I'm proud of, however," the Loud family patriarch continued, getting Lynn to look up at him in the process, "Is that you realized what you were doing, what you were about to do, and that you stopped yourself before you went too far. That proves that you have a lot of strength as a person, Junior. Not bad at all, young lady. Not bad at all."

Still feeling a bit emotionally conflicted due to what she had almost done to her younger brother earlier that day before the game, Lynn nonetheless smiled, a small and mildly sad but ultimately appreciative smile, due to the words of encouragement that she had gotten from her father. Wiping a tear away from the corner of her right eye, Lynn said, "Thanks, dad. Sorry for being so weird and everything just now, but I still can't believe that I almost became the very thing that I protect my siblings from."

"Yeah, I can understand what you're trying to get at, Junior," Lynn Sr. replied with an understanding nod, "I mean, I'm pretty sure that Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa and Lily wouldn't really like it all that much if-"

"Whoever said that me protecting my siblings from bullies was limited to just my _younger_ siblings?" Lynn said, interrupting her dad in the process, "Did you not hear about this one jerk who tried to bother Luna while she was on a date with Sam, and what I did to said jerk?"

"Wait a minute," Lynn Sr. said in a tone that was partly surprised but mostly confused, "I thought that it was Lori who threw that guy head-first into a nearly full garbage can."

With the biggest smile she had since before she left home earlier for the softball game today, Lynn said, "Nope."

…

Lynn was actually having a little bit of trouble believing her luck; her softball team had not only made a recovery from their earlier loss, but they did so by scoring a doubleheader! They were heading straight to the playoffs! To make things even better for the sporty Loud sibling, her entire family was at the game, meaning they had all seen her win it big time; even Gram-Gram, who very recently started relations with Pop-Pop, came to see the game today! As her team cheered down on the field, Lynn looked over to the bleachers where the audience sat, and after a quick scan, Lynn found her family.

Lincoln was sitting there among the rest of the Louds, sandwiched between Luna and Leni.

Having seen her family, Lynn gave them a quick wave before her teammates swept her up into some celebratory running around and all-around revelry. The sporty Loud sister and a teammate of hers even dumped a cooler of water over the head of their coach in celebration. Yeah, this is just how Lynn liked things to be; her team winning, and the whole of her family being there to see them win it big.

No threatening any of them into coming was necessary.

…

"GAAAAAAAA!" Lynn exclaimed suddenly as she jolted awake, surprising Margo, Maya, Paula, Diane and Ulfric in the process; the six middle schoolers were up in the bedroom that Lynn shared with Lucy (who was out at the moment), brainstorming about what to do to help with Margo's campaign in the student body elections. At some point, Lynn drifted to sleep while Margo and the others were talking.

"…Did you sleep well?" Ulfric asked Lynn, a hint of knowing amusement in his tone.

"I…" Lynn began, but she stopped short and shook her head. "…It's nothing," Lynn continued, "So anywho, what did I miss while I was out?"

* * *

A few days later, there was some sort of school dance over at Royal Woods Middle School. Lynn, after much internal debate, finally managed to work up the courage to ask Ulfric if he'd go to the dance with her. The foreign-born thirteen-year-old, although he was at first confused because he thought that in the United States it was the boys who asked the girls to events like the dance instead of the girls asking the boys, nonetheless accepted.

As for Margo and the rest of her team that was supporting her in the student body elections, they decided to all come to the dance as friends. "…I don't really think that you should worry about that Francisco guy too much," Paula remarked to Margo in a conversational tone as they stood off to the side near the table with the punch bowl, "That guy is just small potatoes." After draining her cup of punch dry, Paula went on to say, "Now _Kendra_, on the other hand, is the opponent that you ought to be worrying about. That girl's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell the crazy on her."

"You've…run into Kendra before?" Margo asked, a bit surprised that her friend had such a view on some seemingly random person at their school.

"Margo, girl, trust me," Paula began, "When you've been doing the social ladder tango with the student population of our school for as long as I have, you'll learn who the crazies are, and how to best avoid them." Confused, Margo nonetheless decided that she would follow her friend's warnings, figuring that keeping an eye on Kendra might be in the best interest of her campaign for student body president.

As she and the rest of her team enjoyed themselves where they were at in the dance, Margo eventually spotted Lynn trying to dance with Ulfric. With a bit of a chuckle, Margo nudged the side of Paula's arm, then once Paula was paying attention to her, Margo pointed over to where the sporty Loud sister was trying to dance with the foreign-born thirteen-year-old. "Hey Paula, check it," Margo remarked, "Our girl's trying to make a move on Ulfric the Barbarian."

"Heh, figures that Lynn-sanity would spring for an athlete," Paula commented casually, her tone sounding just as amused as the one Margo was using, "But still, you've got to admit." Shuffling a little bit, Paula continued, "Those two make for an amazing couple. And woe to any sports team that has to play against both Lynn _and_ Ulfric."

"Most likely in football," Margo said, "Given that it's pretty much the only sport Ulfric does."

With a shrug, Paula said, "Although that focus on football has made him better at it than anyone else on the team. Maybe Lynn will take a cue from Ulfric and choose a single sport to put all of her focus in. Sure, Lynn's one hell of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to sports, but I wouldn't quite say that she's a master at any of them."

Margo nodded in agreement with Paula before saying, "But we can wait on that until later. For now, we ought to let Lynn have her fun." Paula nodded in agreement before she and Margo continued to watch their sporty friend continue trying to chat it up with her new crush.

* * *

Over in the area of the gymnasium of Royal Woods Middle School where most of the dancing was taking place, Lynn was talking to her mother Rita, one of the adult chaperones that was needed for the dance, after Ulfric left to go use the bathroom. "Aww, well if isn't this the cutest thing ever!" Rita remarked in a mildly gushing manner, "My daughter asked her boyfriend out to the dance!"

"Mom!" Lynn practically exclaimed in an embarrassed manner, "Ulfric isn't my boyfriend!" Looking down at the floor, Lynn squirmed a bit before saying, "…Well, not yet, at least."

"She's got a point, Mrs. Loud," Lincoln remarked in a cool yet neutral tone; due to the fact that Lincoln would have been left home alone otherwise, the Loud family matriarch had to bring him along. Looking to his ex-family members, the white-haired boy continued, "I'm pretty sure that Lynn would have brought it up at some point if she and Ulfric had become an item."

"Y-yes, Lincoln, you got a point," Rita agreed, hesitating just a bit upon hearing her own son, yet again, refer to her as Mrs. Loud rather than as his mother. It was something that stung painfully at Rita's heart, mostly because she knew full well that she had played a role in making it happen.

"So, Lynn," Lincoln began, getting his sporty ex-sister to focus on him, "How's that student body election thing that your friend Margo is taking part in going?"

"Oh, the elections?" Lynn replied, her tone mildly surprised but mostly confused by the sudden change in topic, "Oh, umm, it's going fine. Last I heard, that Jack guy currently has the least amount of support in the elections, so at least Margo has a good shot at winning."

"Well that's good," Lincoln remarked, the barest hint of interest seeping through his otherwise cool tone, "Glad to see that the team that you're on isn't currently coming in last place. Anyway, I don't suppose you know where the nearest restroom is, do you? I think that I've had one cup of punch too many."

Turing around to face the stage that was in the gymnasium, Lynn explained as she pointed to the stage, "If you go up the stairs on the right-hand side of the stage, and you take a right, walk straight past the racks of folding chairs, head through the doorway with the green exit sign above it, then take a left, you'll find the bathrooms."

"Alright, thanks," replied the white-haired boy as he headed off to follow Lynn's directions. After Lincoln had disappeared into the hidden area off to the side of the stage, Rita turned to look at her athletic daughter.

"Is…is Lincoln starting to get along with you girls again?" Rita asked, sounding as if she were a bit hesitant to ask.

"Well, he's made up with Lily, which I guess is kind of a given since she's a baby," Lynn began to explain, "But Lincoln's also reconciled with Luan and Lola. And from what I've heard, he may soon make up with Lisa and Lori as well."

"So, he's…" Rita began, but stopped short, took a breath to steady herself, then continued, "…He's starting to trust some of us again. That's good." Sighing in a resigned tone, the Loud matriarch continued, "I still can't believe that we let our imaginations run wild on us like that. How could we have treated Lincoln the way that we did?" Looking down at Lynn, Rita remarked in a tone that clearly carried disappointment, "Something else that I still can't believe is that we let you convince the rest of us that your brother was quote unquote 'bad luck'."

Sighing in a resigned, guilty tone, Lynn remarked, "I know, mom. Trust me, I'm still upset with myself over how far I had my head up my ass." Looking onward in the direction that she saw her younger brother head off in to go to the restrooms, the athletic Loud sister said, "At this point, I'd be okay if he made up with everyone other than me."

Rita, although she was upset with Lynn over what her actions ended up leading to, was shocked to hear one of her daughters say that she'd be okay with it if Lincoln never reconciled with her, even if he rebuilt bridges between himself and the rest of the family. Sighing, Rita said, "Young lady, you really ought to not be so pessimistic. I'm sure that your younger brother will eventually come to forgive you."

"Pfft," the sporty Loud sister scoffed in a disbelieving tone, "After what I did, what I put him through? Forget it." Looking back in the direction that Lincoln went off in to go to the restrooms, Lynn looked on with a somber expression on her face.

"I have it coming."

TO BE CONTINUED…

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Author's note:

Seeing that Luan and Benny are in High School now, I had to change a few things about the student body presidential elections that are taking place at the _Middle_ School. To that end, I grabbed most of Lynn's teammates from that episode where she's drafted onto the basketball team Flip sponsors (only leaving out that Amy girl from the episode so as to not mix her up with Amy Ace), then having Margo run for student body president while Lynn and the rest of the young teens backed her up.

Aside from that, I felt that I had to divide chapter eleven of the original version up into two parts here in the revamped version, given how long it went on for. At least this gives me a chance to expand a few details here and there. Anyway, this now two-parter will pick up next time, starting with a conversation between a rather familiar pair of cousins.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter fourteen: Tired Athlete, part two

"You want me to do what now?"

Aside from Rita, there were a few other adults who were acting as chaperones for the dance taking place over at Royal Woods Middle School. One such adult was Chandler's mom, and due to reasons similar to why Rita had to bring her (estranged) son Lincoln along, Chandler's mom had to bring Chandler along. The red-headed boy himself was currently talking to his older cousin Kara, a student at the Middle School, same as Lincoln's (ex)sister Lynn.

"It's very simple, Kara," Chandler said to the green-clad girl, "I need you to find either that Jack guy, that Margo girl or that Kendra girl, get the person that you managed to get ahold of to follow you to where I got something set up, and get them to wait there until my friends and I carry out our plan."

Kara, with her left hand on her hip and her right hand to gesture at Chandler, remarked in a mildly confused tone, "And you're sure that this will do something to screw over Francisco's dad, making him look like a bad person compared to your dad thus upping your dad's chances of getting that promotion at the sewage treatment plant?"

"I already got some stuff that we can plant as evidence to make it look like Francisco is behind what I have planned, yes," Chandler replied in a casual laid-back tone that sounded like it was being reassuring, "Don't worry, Kara. This'll be guaranteed to help our family out."

"…Alright, Chandler," replied Kara, as she turned around to go look for any of the three students who Chandler just asked her to go look for. A few minutes later, Kara came back to Chandler, who was hanging near where he was at when he sent Kara off to find either Margo, Kendra or Jack. Giving her younger cousin a thumbs up, Kara said, "Good news, cous. I found Margo."

"Well alright, Kara," Chandler replied, sounding happy that things were working out in his favor so far.

With a gentle nod of her head, Kara continued, "Yeah. After I had looked around for a bit, I spotted Margo talking to one of her friends who's trying to help her out in the elections."

Clapping his hands together, the red-headed boy remarked, "Excellent. Now all you have to do is get that Margo girl to follow you out to where I got Frank and Richie waiting to help carry out the plan to screw over Francisco." The thirteen-year-old girl nodded gently in agreement before taking her leave to carry out her part in her younger cousin's plan, a plan that would ultimately advance their family as a whole. After his cousin was out of sight, Chandler casually chuckled a bit to himself.

"_This ought to be fun_."

* * *

Meanwhile, off in the area to the right-hand side of the stage in the RWMS gymnasium, Chandler's friends (more like goons) Richie and Frank were hiding in waiting. "Dude, what that seriously Lincoln that we just saw walk on by?" Richie harshly whispered to Frank, his tone clearly conveying surprise mixed with more than a hint of worry, "Dude, what if finds us?!"

"He didn't see us when he walked by," Frank replied in a reassuring manner, "So as long as we keep quiet and keep behind some cover and in the shadows, there's no way that he should see us. Besides, we got more important things to worry about, remember? When one of the students that is running against that Francisco guy comes by, we have to spring the trap." To emphasize his point, the well-fed blonde boy pointed over to something that was off to the side somewhat, getting Richie to look up; there was some sort of trap, looking like it would be an avalanche of various objects found in the side areas of a middle school stage, set up. Frank then held up a rope for Richie to see.

"A good thing that we found enough stuff back here to make sure that the plan won't cause anything really bad but still be rather serious," Frank remarked, "And we can't forget the part where we make sure to plant the evidence to make it look like Francisco's behind it."

"…I'm still a little rattled that Lincoln's here for some odd reason," Richie said in a mildly nervous tone, "I mean, you were there with Chandler when Lincoln went all Hero-Killer Stain and exerted murderous intent, weren't you? Not to mention what we heard that Ross jerk say about receiving similar treatment from Lincoln a couple of days before Ross was throttled by that gang of kids from the disqualified baseball team." With a shudder, Richie added, I think that Lincoln has accomplished the impossible and became _more_ terrifying than Ronnie Anne."

Sighing in a mildly troubled tone, Frank reached towards Richie and placed his hand on Richie's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "…I know full well how you feel, dude," the well-fed blonde boy remarked, "And yes, I was there with Chandler when Lincoln intimidated him. The dude did scare me, and he wasn't even looking at me." Taking a breath, Frank continued, "But you have to try and calm down. Like I said, Lincoln doesn't know that we're here, and so long as you follow my lead, he won't be finding out."

Slowly breathing in and out, Richie said, "Alright, man."

"Good," Frank replied, "Now all we have to do is-" The well-fed blonde boy was cut off when he felt his pocket vibrate. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and saw that he had gotten a text, which he proceeded to read; _I found that Margo girl that Francisco is running against_,_ and I_'_m bringing her over now_, _so_ _get ready_.

"Well alright," Frank remarked as he returned his phone to his pocket, "It looks like Chandler's older cousin Kara found one of the opponents that Francisco jerk's running against in the student body elections." Turing to face Richie, Frank said, "Alright, dude, get ready." Richie, although he was still a little spooked due to having seen Lincoln Loud walk past earlier, was nonetheless ready to do his part. He even carefully and discreetly slipped some printed out campaign posters that had been made for Francisco's bid to win student body elections.

* * *

"So," Margo began as she and her friend Lynn, who tagged along upon hearing what was being talked about, walked and talked with some random girl from her history class that she hardly even knew existed, "…Kara, was it? What was it that you wanted to show me again?"

"I spotted what looked like one of those old timey leather football helmets that were used before the modern hard plastic ones laying on the floor in the off-stage area off to the right-hand side of the stage," Kara explained, "You and your friend here are both good with sports, so I figured that the two of you might get a kick out of seeing it. You girls may also be able to tell me if I was right about what I saw." As she walked with Margo and Lynn, Kara silently cursed to herself in her mind; she was only aiming to lure in Margo, but Lynn insisted on tagging along because of what she (Kara) said about finding something significant to football history. Kara was worried about how this would interfere with the plan.

"I've seen old photos of football players wearing those leather helmet things," Lynn remarked, "But why didn't you simply grab it and bring it to us?"

"I found it laying under a folding chair rack that's behind some large stage props," Kara explained, "There's no way that I'd be able to move all of that stuff on my own. Likewise, it's out of my reach, and I couldn't find anything to use to fish it out."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Margo replied as she and Lynn continued to follow Kara. With the two athletic girls following her, Kara smiled a bit to herself on the inside; there really wasn't one of those old leather football helmet things, but the two girls didn't need to know that. All that Margo (and now Lynn at this point, because she just insisted on having to come along) had to do was fall for the plan, then those boys Frank and Richie who were friends of Chandler's would carry out their part of the plan. Before anyone would know it, the opinion that everyone in RWMS would have of Francisco would drop to an all-time low.

There was also a fairly good chance that Francisco himself might be blamed for the upcoming accident, rather than a group of students that were Francisco supporters, which Kara thought would be the most likely outcome of this plan, given what was about to happen. Either way, Francisco's reputation would be taking a serious hit, which is what Chandler was hoping for.

"So, Kara," Margo began, snapping Kara's attention back to reality, "Where is it?"

"Oh," the cousin of Chandler replied as she began to slowly turn around while looking like she was looking for something, "It should be somewhere-"

"Lynn?" Lincoln's voice called out, getting Lynn, Margo and Kara to look over and see the white-haired boy himself standing there, having returned from using the bathroom. Over from where they hid, Frank and Richie saw that Lincoln was standing there near the three girls.

"Dude," Richie hissed to Frank quietly in a clearly worried tone, "Lincoln's here!"

"Man, you've got to relax," Frank whispered back to his friend, "There's no way that we're going to be found out as long as you-"

"I'm doing it now!" Richie said in a hushed whisper, cutting the fell-wed blonde boy off midsentence as he took the rope end that Frank had shown him earlier and giving it a good hard tug, prompting Frank to go wide-eyed with surprise and a bit of shock.

Over where Lincoln was talking to Lynn, Margo and Kara, the white-haired boy said to his sporty ex-sister in a mildly suspicious tone, "What are you doing with your friends here, Lynn?"

"She was just going to show me and Margo something, Lincoln," the athletic Loud girl replied, her tone sounding like she was regretting something. Kara and Margo both noticed the odd tone, but neither girl had any idea why Lynn would be speaking to this boy in such a regretful tone. Kara and Margo both decided (on their own respectively, not with each other) that it was a non-factor, with Margo trying to take Lynn's side if need be and Kara proceeding to try and go through with her part in Chandler's plan.

"It's one of those old timey leather football helmet things," Kara explained to this mystery boy that seemed to have Lynn cowed, "I figured that these girls would both get a kick out of it since they are both into sports."

After considering for a bit what Kara had said, the white haired boy nodded a bit in agreement. "…Yeah, that does sound like Ly-" Lincoln began, but he was cut off when he and the three middle school girls heard some creaking from off to the side. Looking over, the four kids saw a large pile of stuff that was piled in a way so that just a little bit of outside effort would be enough to make all of it fall over. Seeing some of the objects in the pile shift around a bit, Lincoln could tell that unless he got out of the way quickly, he'd be buried in an avalanche of-

"LINCOLN, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Before anyone knew what was happening, the white-haired boy felt himself getting shoved out of the way. Lincoln ended up falling over and rolling a bit before he knocked into the door with the green exit sign overhead, which he had closed after he had returned from the restroom. Right as Lincoln slammed into the closed door, he heard a large commotion of noises clamoring out in a booming symphony, and immediately afterwards, he began to hear the panicked shouts of people out in the gymnasium. A bit shaken by the little trip and roll he had taken, Lincoln nonetheless began to get back up to his feet.

"Ow…" Lincoln groaned just as he had finished standing back up, "…What the hell was all of-" The white-haired boy stopped short when, upon looking over to where he had been previously standing, there was now a large pile of various odds and ends, all of which had fallen over due to being overbalanced. Lincoln also saw that Margo and the green-clad girl were picking stuff off of the pile and tossing all of it to the side, in a frantic attempt to unbury an unconscious Lynn, who was sticking half-way out from underneath the pile while lying face down on the floor. There was also a somewhat large wooden crate pinning down on Lynn's left shoulder blade.

"Holy crap," Lincoln said in a quiet tone of shock as he was quickly hit by the situation. Running over to the scene so that he could try to help the two girls with their digging, the white-haired boy shouted, "LYNN!"

* * *

Back at the Loud family residence, Lynn was sitting up on the sofa, looking like she had fallen asleep while watching TV. "Mmm," the athletic Loud girl moaned quietly to herself as she began to stir awake. When her eyes were open enough, Lynn saw, to her mild confusion, that she had somehow gotten back home, even though it wasn't the last place she remembered being. "…How in the heck did I get back home?" Lynn said aloud to herself as she hopped off of the sofa.

Lynn looked around the living room, and aside from the surprising lack of volume in the house (the Louds do have something of a reputation for living up to their family name, after all), nothing seemed to be off to her. "…Hello?" Lynn called out a bit tentatively, "Is anybody-"

"Lynn's awake!" a younger male voice called out, cutting Lynn off midsentence and making her look over to the source of the noise. To Lynn's complete bafflement, she saw Lincoln come running over to her. The reason _why_ the sporty Loud girl was confused by all of this was because Lincoln was somewhere between the twins' height and Lisa's height, and rather than his usual outfit of an orange polo and blue pants, the white-haired boy was wearing an orange shirt and a pair of overalls.

"_That_'_s the outfit that Lincoln wore back when he was little_," Lynn thought to herself as the mini-Lincoln finished running up to her. Shaking her head gently, Lynn said to the mini Lincoln that was standing in front of her, "Lincoln, why are you shorter, and why are you wearing a pair of Lana's overalls?" The athletic Loud sister's questions elicited confused looks out of the now shorter Lincoln.

"I'm short because I'm five," the mini-Lincoln replied as he held up a hand with all fingers and his thumb outstretched. Lowering his arm, the mini-Lincoln continued, "Also, who's this Lana person that you're talking about?" Gesturing to his overalls that he wore, the young white-haired boy said, "These are my overalls."

Lynn was even more confused now; her little brother was suddenly five-years-old again, and apparently Lana didn't exist. The athletic Loud girl had no idea what the hell was going on, but something else was on her mind. If Lincoln really _was_ five-years-old again, does that mean he doesn't remember what she had done to him? How she had decried him as bad luck, which ultimately prompted him to run away, staying missing until he had randomly popped up by chance over in Great Lakes City? Did this now younger Lincoln remember any of the bad things that she had ever done to him? Could…could this be her chance to try to set things right with her little brother?

"…Umm, hey Lincoln," Lynn began in a mildly serious tone, getting the now younger white-haired boy to look up at her, "Do…do you remember if I ever did anything bad to you?"

"Anything bad?" the mini-Lincoln said, repeating part of what Lynn had said in a confused tone, before he proceeded to give consideration to his older sister's question. After a couple of seconds, the mini-Lincoln, while pointing to Lynn in an accusatory manner, replied with a mildly grumpy look on his face, "Yeah, you took the last brownie snack cake, even though mommy said that it was for me!"

…That's it? That's all that mini-Lincoln remembers? Lynn, needing to be sure, couldn't help but press just a little bit more. "Is there anything else that you can remember?" Lynn asked, a hint of concern in her tone "Anything at all?"

"Mmm…" mini-Lincoln said as he gave Lynn's question some thought. After a few seconds, mini-Lincoln merely shook his head and said, "Nope, you just took my snack cake. You owe me a new one, by the way."

The athletic Loud girl was immediately hit by a wave of emotions; regret, guilt, sadness. But over all of that combined, Lynn felt relieved. Her little brother, though oddly changed as he may have been, was not upset with her beyond something simple that can be very easily remedied. Lynn could not help but start crying. Softly, mind you, but crying all the same. Crying because of the immense relief that she was feeling. Crying that the mini-Lincoln noticed right away.

"Umm, Lynn?" mini-Lincoln said in a concerned tone as he looked up at his older sister, "Are you okay? If it helps, you don't really have to get me a snack cake."

"No, no," Lynn replied with a gentle shake of her head, "It's not that, little bro. It's…something else that I had to deal with." Walking up to the mini-Lincoln, Lynn reached down and gently ruffled the top of his head. "Come on, Lincoln," Lynn said, "Let's find some snack cakes."

"Okay!" mini-Lincoln said cheerfully as he proceeded to follow his older sister into the kitchen.

Lynn had to wipe another tear away from her eye as her little brother followed her. Lincoln didn't have the cool, indifferent tone he had taken to using since returning home after having run away, he wasn't showing any scorn towards her, and he was overall just happy. Happy to be around his older sister.

An older sister that was happy that her little brother wanted to be around her.

…

"Mmm…" Lynn moaned quietly as she started coming to. After a few seconds, the sporty Loud girl was fully awake. The last thing that Lynn remembered was that she was leading her little brother (who was de-aged for some odd reason) into the kitchen to try and find some snack cakes, and now she is laying in a hospital bed. Well, she _was_ laying in the bed; after waking up, Lynn sat upright in the hospital bed as she began to look around at her surroundings.

It was a standard hospital room from what Lynn could tell; it had a hospital bed (which she was laying/sitting in), a bedside table on her right, a table off to the one side of the room, a chair in the far-right corner of the room, and a TV suspended from the wall so that Lynn could watch TV while laying in the bed. To Lynn's surprise, Lori was sitting in the aforementioned chair. The oldest Loud sister must be here to try and keep an eye on her, and was currently asleep.

Lynn suddenly felt a bit of pain in the back of her head, prompting her to hold her hand to the back of her head. When she did this, Lynn noticed that her hair was down as opposed to being up in a sporty ponytail, allowing her hair to flow over her back. Looking over to the bedside table, Lynn saw that the ponytail she used to bind her hair up was laying next to a small vase.

"_So_ _that_…_all of that_…_it was just a dream_…" Lynn thought as she recalled her experiences before coming to in the hospital room. Looking over to where her older sister was asleep in a chair, Lynn shouted, "Hey, Lori!" Lynn's shout was enough to stir Lori from her sleep, and after yawning and stretching a bit, the oldest Loud sister looked over and saw that Lynn was up.

"Lynn!" Lori nearly exclaimed upon seeing her athletic younger sister awake, clearly sounding relieved. Getting up from the chair and dashing over to Lynn, Lori asked, "Are you okay?"

"Well other than having a feeling like I just got blindsided by a taco truck, I'm pretty-" Lynn began, but she was cut off when she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder blade. Quick reaching her hand over to her left shoulder, the sporty Loud girl said through a hiss of pain, "Yeah, that's going to be a pain."

"Well at least you're going to be okay," Lori remarked, "Mom said that your friend Margo and some random girl were trying to help Lincoln unbury you from that mess. Mom also said that the random girl claimed to have seen two kids rush out before anyone else could see them. The girl said that she didn't get a very good look at either of the two kids, but she did hear one of them say something about screwing up trying to make the elections easier for Francisco."

Pulling something out of the right rear pocket on her shorts, Lori removed a folded-up sheet of paper, unfolded it, and handed it over to Lynn. It was one of the printed campaign posters for Francisco's bid to win student body elections over at RWMS. "…Your friend Margo said that she literally found one of these on the floor where that stuff fell down on you while you were loaded onto a stretcher and brought here," the oldest Loud girl explained after having handed over the printed poster. As she looked at the sheet of paper, the athletic Loud girl began to feel mild regret.

"…I can't believe it…" Lynn said, her tone a mix of regret and simmering anger, "…And to think that I actually used to like that bastard…" Lynn's hand that held the printed poster tightened, causing the paper to scrunch up and crinkle slightly. Lori could hear the crinkling of the paper as Lynn's hand that held it tightened into a fist. Suddenly looking up to Lori, Lynn asked in a worried tone, "Wait a minute! Is Lincoln okay? I saw that the stuff that fell on me was about to fall on him, so I pushed him out of the-"

"He's fine," Lori replied in a gentle and understanding tone, interrupting Lynn in the process, "He was a bit upset when we found him, Margo and that random girl trying to unbury you, but he calmed down significantly when the medics said that you were just knocked out and would be fine after some treatment here at the hospital." With a bit of an amused smile, Lori added, "By the way, Lincoln asked mom if you could be un-grounded."

"I was…" Lynn began, but stopped short upon remembering what Lori was talking about; the morning after Lincoln came back from Great Lakes City, her parents decided to let Lincoln decide how she was to be punished. Lincoln eventually let them go for grounding Lynn for two months, which was the original plan, with the suggested punishments offered by some of the other Loud girls all being declined. Not Lisa's suggestion, for some odd reason, although Lisa has yet to take advantage of using Lynn in her experiments.

"…Oh yeah," the athletic Loud girl said quietly, "I'm still grounded."

"_Were_ grounded, Lynn," Lori corrected, "You _were_ grounded. Mom agreed to ungrounding you. She's going to tell dad about it later."

"…But why-"

"Did you not hear me?" the oldest Loud sister interrupted, "Lincoln asked her to. You…" Taking a breath to steady herself, Lori continued, "If it wasn't for you, then Lincoln literally would have wounded up here in the hospital instead of you. You…" Having to take another steadying breath, Lori went on, "…You saved Lincoln from a accident that would have literally been terrible." Walking over to the doorway that led into Lynn's room at the hospital, Lori said, "Anyway, Lincoln's waiting outside. I'm going to head out to give him the go ahead to come on in."

Lynn watched as her older sister walked out of the hospital room, leaving her alone. But the sporty Loud sibling was alone for only a second or so, because Lincoln then peeked into the room, and upon seeing Lynn awake and sitting up in the hospital bed, he was at the door just long enough to close it behind himself.

Making his way over to where Lynn was sitting up in her hospital bed, Lincoln simply looked at her for a few brief seconds before he gently threw his arms around her, unknowingly making the pain in Lynn's left shoulder blade flare up a bit again. Regardless of that, Lynn was so shocked by what was happening that she didn't even notice the pain. When Lynn finally processed what was happening, her expression changed from one of stunned shock to one of sad, yet ultimately happy, realization.

Slowly, the sporty Loud girl wrapped her own arms around the white-haired boy to begin returning the hug. Lynn could tell that this was NOT a dream; the back of her head still hurt and she was starting to finally notice the sharp pain that was in her left shoulder blade. The physical pain was going to be a bother to Lynn, and she expected that the part concerning her shoulder might end up hindering her when it came to sports. But all of that was far from Lynn's mind at that moment.

She was Lincoln's sister again.

Lynn began to cry.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Author's note:

Given the overall impact I felt Lincoln reconciling with Lynn had, I left the core of how Lynn made up with Lincoln unchanged, only changing a few minor details (such as Margo being the one Lynn supported in the student body elections), as well as the fact that I decided to break this one up into two parts (both this and the previous chapter used to be a single chapter). Anyway, next time will see things continuing in this revamped story, even though I have no idea at the moment what I'm going to do for it; I'll either have the main story continue, or do a filler chapter that delves into more background for Chandler or development for some of the Loud sisters (I have special chapters in mind for both Lily and Lana).


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter fifteen: Path of the Sword

The Loud kids were having breakfast one day at their family's house, just as they would any other morning. This morning was a bit different since Lynn, the athletic sister of the eleven Loud children, had just gotten out of the hospital. "Hey, Lynn," oldest Loud sibling Lori began, getting her athletic younger sister's attention, "Are you feeling better after what happened at the dance?"

Looking up from her cereal and over to Lori, Lynn said, "What, you mean when that stuff all fell on me?" With a casual shrug, Lynn replied, "Ehh, that was nothing."

"I literally hesitate to disagree with you on that," Lori remarked dryly, "But seriously, Lynn. I think that you ought to take it easy for a bit."

"She's got a point, Lynn," Lincoln said, a mild hint of concern in his tone. Lynn turned to her side to see her younger brother regard her with a look of mild worry on his face. "You just got out of the hospital need I remind you," the white-haired boy pointed out, "Emphasis on _just_. I think that Lori's got a point on how you ought to take it easy."

The sporty Loud sister relented a bit, touched by the concern her siblings were showing her. Especially Lincoln, who had recently done something that Lynn was expecting would never happen; forgive her for her part in driving him to the point of running away. Lynn was thinking that her little brother would never reconcile with her, mostly because it was more or less her fault that the bad luck nonsense from a while ago even took place at all.

"…Sorry, guys," Lynn relented, "I guess I do need to learn when to dial it down a notch."

"You aren't the only one, Lynn," Lisa remarked dryly. Turning to regard Luna, Lisa continued, "Wouldn't you agree?" As Luna started to get into an argument with Lisa, Loud family matriarch Rita came walking into the dining room area. Seeing that some of her kids were arguing, she called everyone's attention to her, quelling any argument that might have happened.

"Hey kids," Rita began, "The local youth group being hosted by the community center is throwing together a football team!"

"That's great, mom!" Lynn said, her interest suddenly piqued.

Nodding once in acknowledgement to her athletic child, Rita continued as she walked over to where Lynn sat, "It's technically open to most kids, but I figured that you at least would be interested, Lynn."

"Cool," Lynn remarked, "Hey, I wonder if-"

"Lynn, brah, your shoulder," Luna pointed out.

"Oh," Lynn replied, her tone deflating. Slumping back in her seat, Lynn lamented, "Well there goes that plan."

"And here I thought that this would help to lighten the mood after you got out of the hospital," Rita said in a mildly regretful tone.

With a sympathetic sigh, Lori said, "Mom, Lynn literally just got out of the hospital, and you were thinking of letter her get right back into strenuous physical activity?"

"Oh," the Loud matriarch remarked, realizing that her oldest child had made a good point. Grabbing an empty chair at the table and sitting down in it, Rita continued, "I really wasn't thinking there, was I?" As Lori proceeded to try and cheer her mother up, Lincoln was looking around the table at the faces of the other people sitting there. Specifically, the white-haired boy was looking at Lynn's bummed expression and Rita's self-disappointed expression. Lincoln can understand Lynn being bummed; after all, she was currently nursing an injury that would keep her away from her favorite pastime for a little while longer yet.

As for Rita, Lincoln could tell that she was disappointed in herself for screwing up as a parent. …Did she feel this way when she was struck by the realization of having contributed to making him run away? It was bad enough that Rita had screwed up as a parent when it came to what she had helped to put Lincoln through, but by doing so she went back on her word that she would never kick one of them out. It's not that he had forgiven his ex-mother for her part (far from it, actually), but there was something in Lincoln that made him not like seeing Rita in the dumps like this.

"…Hey, Mrs. Loud," Lincoln began, planning to do something that he was at least forty-two percent sure would backfire on him in some way.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LINCOLN GOT HURT?!"

In a move that he was unsure of why he actually decided to make it, Lincoln decided to sign up for the youth football team being hosted by the local community center. He even had some fun working on plays along side some of his fellow teammates, which included Ulfric Aesir, Lynn's friend/current crush, and Andy Ace, the younger brother of Lincoln and Ronnie Anne's friend Astrid. …Why there was such a bizarre range of ages (Andy's ten to Ulfric's thirteen) on one team was beyond the white-haired boy, but that was beside the point.

During the first game where Lincoln's team played against the youth football team organized by a community center from outside of Royal Woods, the white-haired boy was hurt when several kids from the other team dogpiled onto him near the end of the game in an attempt to dogpile onto another kid that was going to score a touchdown. Thankfully, the worst Lincoln got was some bruising, and even more thankfully, Lincoln did not require treatment at the local hospital. …Not that it stopped Rita from giving the youth football coach a rough time, mind you.

"It was a total accident, ma'am," the youth football coach said apologetically, close to cowering due to Rita being intimidating "And we contacted the parents of all of the boys that were res-"

"THAT'S STILL NO EXCUSE!" the Loud matriarch exclaimed at the youth football coach (living up to her family's name in the process), who was growing steadily more afraid of the angry blonde woman who was yelling at him. It did not help his case that Rita's feelings on the matter were shared by four of her daughters, Lynn, Lori, Leni and Luna, all of which were standing behind their mother, staring down the youth football coach in a manner similar to the Loud family matriarch.

"You are literally one of the worst youth sports coaches ever," Lori snapped as she pointed an accusing finger, "In fact, where's the coach of the other team?"

"A group of angry parents from the Royal Woods area are scolding him," the youth football coach explained, hoping that it would help him. Thankfully for him, Rita and her daughters seemed to simmer down somewhat due to hearing this.

"Hey, sorry about this," Lincoln's voice called out a bit weakly, prompting his ex-sisters, his ex-mother and Lynn to look over and see Lincoln come up, accompanied by Andy and Ulfric, the latter of which was supporting Lincoln due to the white-haired boy being hurt. Andy was, for some reason, wearing a black-and-gold variation of his usual red-and-white outfit.

"Yo Ulfric, you think Lincoln's going to be okay?" Andy asked his fellow teammate in a mildly concerned tone, "I mean, he did take one heck of a beating but lived to tell the tale. He's got a warrior's resilience, that's for sure."

With a gentle nod of agreement, Ulfric remarked to his younger teammate, "I myself would be interested in seeing Lincoln continue playing with us. He's got speed and respectable stamina, and you raise an excellent point about Lincoln's resilience."

"Lincoln!" Rita exclaimed in a worried tone upon seeing her injured son. Running right over to Lincoln, Rita got down on one knee so that she was level with Lincoln before she proceeded to examine the bruises and mild scrapes on his face. "Oh, I'm so sorry that I pushed you into this, sweetie," Rita said as she started to look Lincoln over, "I should have OH MY GOODNESS YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

Looking on his left forearm, Lincoln saw a minor scrape that was bleeding; not enough to warrant treatment at the hospital, mind you, but a bandage wouldn't hurt. "…I highly doubt that this would kill me," the white-haired boy remarked dryly, "Besides, it was my idea to join the youth football group, remember?"

"Yes, but only because I was so pushy about trying to get you to exercise in the past," Rita said, her tone clearly conveying guilt.

"Hey mom," Leni began in a curious tone, "Now that you, like, brought it up, I've been meaning to ask you. If your intention was to, like, try to get Linky in shape, then why did you sign him up for that football team that one time? Lynn says that one has to have some amount of physical fitness to begin with in order to get into sports. I mean, if you wanted Linky to, like, get in shape, then wouldn't something like track be a better and more logical option?"

"Leni…" Lori began, but then stopped short as she considered what her ditzy younger sister just said. "…Raises an excellent point, mom," Lori continued as she found what Leni said to have made a lot of sense, "Heck, with all of the running around that Lincoln does trying to keep up with everything going on at home, he'd literally be a wiz at track."

"I…did not think of that," Rita replied, her tone indicating that she was struck by a sudden realization. Holding a hand to her forehead, the Loud matriarch continued, "…Wow. I really dropped the ball on that one, didn't I?"

Lori was about to say something, but she was cut off when everyone heard a familiar female voice call out, "There you are, Andy!" At that prompting, everyone turned to see Allison Ace, the owner of said voice, walk up to the group, accompanied by her younger twin brother Aggro and another teenager that looked to be roughly the same age as Luna.

This mystery girl that was with the Ace twins had fair but pale skin, and long black hair whose bangs covered the left eye, leaving the right eye, which was a strong, vibrant and striking shade of burgundy, uncovered; the rest of the long black hair trailed down the girl's back in a single braided ponytail. The girl also wore a black sleeveless girl's blouse, a black skirt that reached her knees, black and white striped arm warmers that reached halfway up her upper arms, black and white striped stockings, and black shoes. The mystery girl was also holding onto a simple staff that, judging by some of the intricate details that could only be seen up close, was of Native American make.

"You played well, little brother," Allison said to Andy, "Surely that means that Odin had seen fit to bless you and your team, allowing you all to win."

"The Allfather's intentions are mysterious to us, are they not?" Ulfric remarked to Allison, getting her attention in the process. Allison nodded in an approving manner at Ulfric before turning her attention back to Andy.

"Yeah, we won big time, alright," Andy said to Allison, then continued with a hint of concern in his tone while pointing to Lincoln, "But one of my teammates was injured during the game."

Allison quickly shot a look at Lincoln, who was still being looked over by Rita. The female Ace twin then shifted her attention to Lori, Leni, Luna and Lynn, who all stood behind their mother. Pointing at the white-haired boy, Allison said, "I take it that this one is one of yours, Lori?"

"Yes, that's my younger brother Lincoln," Lori replied. Pointing to Andy, the oldest Loud sister asked, "And I take it that this is your little brother, Allison?"

"This is Andy, yes," the seventeen-year-old Ace sister replied, "Only ten years of age, yet he already shows promise as a warrior!" Turning her attention to Andy quickly, Allison wore a look of confusion while saying, "How come you're wearing black and gold today? Don't you usually wear red and white?"

"It's in the wash, remember?" Andy pointed out to his older sister.

With a mild hint of embarrassment in her expression, Allison replied, "Oh yeah."

"Great job on winning the game," the mystery girl said to Andy and his teammates as she took a step forward, "That goes for all of you."

"Thank you, umm…" Lincoln began, but trailed off due to not knowing the girl's name.

"Oh dude," Luna said as she got Lincoln's attention, "That's Allison and Aggro's younger sister Amy. I share a few classes with her at the high school."

"Well anyway," Rita began to say to her children, "We ought to get going home now. I'm also going to look into trying to find some safer physical activity for Lincoln tomorrow."

"I can use him as my go-to caddy," Lori offered, "Since the golfing season is kicking up for the varsity golf team, we've been seeing a lot of play recently. Lincoln will be getting plenty of exercise carrying my golf bag for me."

"And I suppose that while you're on the subject, you're going to try to convince me to join your little golf guild again?" Allison remarked in a knowing tone, "Try to get the cherry on the top while you're at it, as it were?"

"Well it wouldn't hurt…" Lori admitted, drawing an amused chuckle out of the oldest female Ace teen. The male Ace teen, on the other hand, was giving Lincoln a look of consideration while everyone's focus was on the two talking seventeen-year-old girls. "Come on, Allison," Lori said right when Aggro came out of his thoughts, "We'd be a shoo-in to win nationals if you join the team!"

With a shrug, Allison replied, "I'm still trying to figure out why Odin had seen fit to give me his blessings whenever I play golf. If I can figure out the reason why, then I can keep it up because who am I to displease the Allfather?"

"Actually, Allison," Lori replied, "I've been meaning to tell you-"

"Excuse me, ma'am," Aggro said to Rita, interrupting Lori in the process, "But can I borrow your son for a minute?" Having heard Aggro speak up just now caught everyone's attention, especially the Loud sisters who were present.

Curious and with a look of mild apprehension on her face, Rita asked, "What do you need Lincoln for?" In response, Aggro reached over his right shoulder to the cloth carrying case that was worn over his back, similar to the thin rectangular carrying case that Allison currently wore over her back. Opening the cloth carrying case over his back, Aggro drew out a bokken that was inside. Just a little over three feet in length, the bokken was a reddish-brown wood color. There was also some faux black leather (with red threading) wrapped around the one end, serving as the bokken's hilt.

Turning the bokken around in one hand so that the hilt was pointing outwards, Aggro tried to hand the bokken over to Lincoln. "I believe that I may have a possible answer to your concerns about trying to find your son a physical activity that he can do," Aggro said while facing Rita. Turning back to face Lincoln again, Aggro noticed the confused look that was on the face of the sole Loud boy. "Try holding Morning Sun as if it were a sword of metal," Aggro said as he gave Lincoln instructions to follow.

"Morning Sun?" Rita repeated in a confused tone as Lincoln hesitantly took the offered blade.

"Yes, I named my bokken," the male Ace twin replied as he motioned for everyone to get back. When Lincoln had enough space, Aggro said, "Try swinging it, but not wildly." Confused by the instructions, Lincoln nonetheless followed them, imagining himself as a swordsman from one of the anime shows that he and his friends watched, specifically the ones that were more realistic as opposed to the more fantastical swordsmen of other shows.

A straight forward swing. Two diagonal swings, one from the left and one from the right. Lincoln even held the bokken horizontally in front of him, as if he were blocking a sword strike. While Lincoln was doing this, everyone else watched, Aggro especially. The seventeen-year-old Ace boy could tell that Lincoln had no formal training, but he also saw the sparks of latent talent, not to mention an honest interest in swordsmanship. "…Not bad," Aggro remarked, prompting Lincoln to stop.

Turning to regard Rita, Aggro said, "Ma'am, with your permission, I would like to get your son into Kendo."

"Kendo?" Rita repeated in a confused tone, "What's that?"

"Kendo is a Japanese martial art that draws its origins from swordsmanship," Aggro explained, "I myself have been practicing it for a good number of years now." Gesturing to Lincoln, who still held the bokken he handed to him, Aggro continued as he spoke to Rita, "You'd be surprised by the amount of physical activity your son will get out of it, and there are more benefits than just the physical ones." Turning to face Lincoln, Aggro said, "I'd like it back now."

Still a little confused by what Aggro was talking about, Lincoln nonetheless nodded as he turned the bokken he held so that he could hand it back while its hilt pointed to Aggro. A mildly amused smile on his face, Aggro said as he took his bokken back, "And just like that, you passed my first test." Confused by Aggro's praise, Lincoln was nonetheless happy that he was apparently off to a good start from the get-go.

Turning to face his mom, Lincoln said, "Well what do you think? Would it be okay if I started practicing Kendo?"

To be honest, Rita was unsure about _any_ physical activity for Lincoln, given that he just came off of one due to getting roughed up really bad. …But then again, that happens to Lynn more or less all the time, and she always bounces back. And the youth football coach did seem like he was a bit incompetent, whereas Aggro here seemed to exude skill and competency. Plus, the male Ace twin had the benefit of being someone that some of Rita's daughters knew personally; that level of familiarity helped to breed trust.

With a small but honest smile, Rita replied, "Well I don't see why not. Your sister's friend seems to know what he's-"

"Linky would totes love to sword fight with you, Aggro!" Leni said to Aggro in an excited and almost eager tone, interrupting her mother in the process as well as mildly startling the male Ace twin, "When should I bring Linky over for his first lesson?"

A mildly confused look on his face, Aggro said, "Umm, Kendo is no mere child's game of pretend sword fighting. It is an actual martial art that requires discipline."

"But you'll still show Linky how to do it, right?" Leni continued.

"…Well yeah, since your mother just gave me the okay to do so," Aggro replied, a mildly confused look on his face due to Leni's sudden shift in behavior.

Practically beaming, Leni said, "Then I'll bring Linky over first thing tomorrow!"

Casting a quick glance at Lincoln, Aggro said, "Umm, I believe that your younger brother ought to rest a bit first. I mean, he was roughed up quite a bit in today's football game."

"Your friend's right, Leni," Rita said to her second-oldest daughter, "Lincoln needs time to heal from his injuries."

"Oh, sorry," Leni replied, looking mildly embarrassed.

* * *

After Lincoln had sufficient time to recover, his older ex-sisters Lori and Leni took him over to the Ace family's residence. Lori knew the way over to the Ace family's place, and she was still a bit keen on trying to get Allison to join the RWHS varsity golf team. However, Lori had no idea why Leni of all people would want to come over.

The three of them eventually reached a two-story house that seemed similar to some of the other two-story houses in the Royal Woods neighborhood. The oldest Loud sister walked up and knocked on the door, which elicited a loud, booming barking from the other side. The white-haired boy jumped a bit when he heard the barking, although neither of the girls did, as they had both long since become familiar with the beast within.

"Relax, Linky," Leni said as she looked over and noticed the startled look on Lincoln's face, "That was just Aggro's dog."

"It's Allison's dog, Leni," Lori corrected, "Aggro doesn't own a dog."

Soon enough after Lori had knocked on it, the front door of the Ace residence opened, and the three Loud siblings were greeted by Aggro. "…I see that you came around the time I specified," Aggro remarked as he gestured for the Loud siblings to enter, "Punctuality is a virtue that anyone practicing a serious discipline needs to keep in mind."

"You're disciplining Linky?" Leni asked in a worried tone, "Did he do something bad?"

"No, Leni," Lori said, "Discipline can also mean a field of study or training. Martial arts are sometimes referred to as disciplines."

"Your sister is correct, Leni," Aggro remarked to the fashionable Loud sister, "Rest assured that Lincoln is not in any trouble to speak of. At least as far as I am aware."

"Thank goodness," Leni replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well then, we shouldn't just stand out here and shoot the breeze," Aggro remarked to the Loud siblings with a hint of mild mirth in his tone, "Come on in."

* * *

Lincoln and his ex-sisters walked through the first floor of the Ace family residence. As they went through the living room, something caught the attention of the white-haired boy; a large and somewhat ornate dreamcatcher was hanging on one of the walls in the living room. It clearly looked like something that would cost a considerable sum to purchase from a Native American-themed gift shop somewhere. Leni likewise agreed that the dreamcatcher looked beautiful.

"Ah, that," Aggro remarked when Leni pointed out and asked about the dreamcatcher, "That came from Amy and Alphonse's parents."

"Wait a minute," Leni began in a mildly confused tone, "I thought that, like, Amy and Alphonse were your siblings. Are you saying they really aren't?"

With a bit of a sigh, Aggro explained, "In truth, Amy and Alphonse are biologically my cousins, with their mom and dad being my aunt and uncle." With a hint of somberness in his expression, the male Ace twin continued, "After a car crash roughly five years ago claimed the lives of my aunt and uncle, my mom and dad took Amy and Alphonse in, and even formally adopted them as their own kids. My mom still has the official paperwork and everything."

"Wait a minute," Lori began, "So are Amy and Alphonse your cousins or your siblings?"

"Yes," Aggro replied, drawing mildly confused looks out of Lori and Leni. With a mildly amused smile on his face due to the reactions that he got out of them, Aggro continued, "Amy and Alphonse, unlike me and the rest of my siblings, are half Native American rather than half Japanese. They're still half Swedish because my late aunt was from my mother's side of the family." With a look of mild puzzlement on his face, Aggro added, "I don't quite remember the tribe that my late uncle was born into. I'll have to ask my mom when she-"

Aggro was cut off when a large, and I do mean large, fluffy dog came running into the living room and right up to the Loud kids that were visiting, wagging its tail in an excited manner. The dog was mostly black in color, although it had a light brownish-tannish underbelly that reached up to around the muzzle. He also had a large, lion-like mane of fur around his head, making him look even more ferocious.

The sudden appearance of this dog caught Lincoln by surprise, although the dog's friendly demeanor and eagerness to consistently lick Lincoln's face as it wagged its tail seemed to have made the white-haired boy relax. "Aww, isn't he sweet?" Leni gushed as the (very) large dog practically coated the side of Lincoln's face with slobber, "Aggro's dog totes likes Linky!"

"Fenrir is Allison's dog, not mine," Aggro corrected, a hint of amusement in his tone that was brought on by the dog's overly friendly display.

"Yeesh, even though I saw him when I came here that one time to ask Allison if I could borrow her special golf club, I'm still literally shocked by how big her dog is," Lori remarked, "I think he's even a little bit bigger than the dog that Bobby's cousins own." Gesturing to Fenrir, Lori asked Aggro, "What breed of dog is Fenrir again?"

"Fenrir is a Tibetan Mastiff," Allison's voice called out, prompting everyone to turn and see that Allison had entered the living room. With a snap of her fingers, Allison said, "Fenrir, come." Without missing a beat, the large and fluffy dog stopped showing affection to Lincoln and went over to his owner right away, sitting down on the floor on Allison's right.

"My apologies if Fenrir here gave you any trouble," Allison remarked, "It's just that he loves greeting guests is all."

Gesturing to Fenrir, Lincoln remarked, "Well at least he's friendly."

"So, Louds," Allison began, "What brings you all over?"

"Oh, me, Lori and Link's mom gave Aggro the go ahead to teach Linky to sword fight," Leni explained, "Linky's over for his first lesson, and I think that Lori, like, wants to talk to you about something."

Nodding in understanding, Allison said, "Seems reasonable. Aggro did say something about teaching one of Lori's siblings how to do kendo." Turning to face Lori, Allison continued in a knowing tone, "And I can probably guess why you yourself came over."

"Heh, yeah," Lori remarked, "We do have a few things to discuss. Well, at least I hope you'll literally hear me out."

"Uhh huh," Allison replied, "Well anywho, I suppose we ought to let my brother get started on tutoring your brother." With that cue, Lori followed Allison out of the living room, with Fenrir walking along behind them. When they were gone, Aggro turned to face Lincoln and Leni.

"Well then," Aggro said, "We ought to head into the backyard. I have some extra Kendo equipment in the shed in the backyard, and the backyard has the most space for practice."

Nodding in agreement with the male Ace twin, Lincoln replied as he and Leni both proceeded to follow Aggro into the Ace family's backyard, "Yeah, sounds great."

* * *

While Lori and Allison talked with each other inside, Aggro, Lincoln and Leni were outside in the backyard. The Ace family's backyard was somewhat more spacious than the Loud family's backyard, although a fair part of the backyard was taken up by a large, constructed kennel that was in the upper left corner, with a large walk-in shed in the upper right corner of the backyard, putting it opposite of the large kennel.

"Before we start," Aggro began as he turned to face Lincoln, "I need to get an appropriately-sized Bogu set for you. Luckily, everything we're going to need is in the shed."

The white-haired boy, having no idea what Aggro's talking about, asked, "What's a Bogu?"

"It's the set of training armor that one wears while practicing Kendo," Aggro explained, "Additionally, we'll have to get you fitted for a gi and a hakama. A gi is the long-sleeved jacket worn by people who practice martial arts, and a hakama is the basically the pants or skirt of the outfit, depending on if your hakama is an umanori or an andon bakama. The gi and hakama are usually worn under the Bogu. As a side note, the gi and hakama both have special methods for properly storing after use and overall care, which I will show you how to do later."

"Wow, Aggro!" Leni remarked in amazement, "I didn't know that you knew so much about fashion!"

Looking mildly confused, Aggro replied, "…Umm, what I'm talking about doesn't relate to fashion as a whole. At least not as much as you might be assuming." Turing to face Lincoln, Aggro said, "Well then, are you ready, Lincoln? Ready to walk the way of the sword?"

The white-haired boy was somewhat nervous, but it was a mild amount of nervousness at most. And the excitement of learning a martial art far outweighed any trepidation that he had. After he had gathered enough of his nerves, Lincoln nodded in the affirmative, saying, "I'm ready to start learning when you're ready to start teaching, Aggro-sensei."

"Oh," Aggro replied in a tone of mild amusement, "I see that you have some familiarity with honorifics." Looking upwards to the sky, Aggro continued with a look of consideration on his face, "Yeah, I'm your Kendo instructor, so I suppose that calling me sensei would be correct." Lowing his head back down so he could face Lincoln, Aggro continued, "Anyway, let's get that size-appropriate Bogu, gi and hakama for you. I can't have you training without being properly outfitted." With a small but amused smile on his face, Aggro added, "Lincoln-kun."

"Hee," Leni giggled cutely to herself, "This is going to be fun."

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Author's note:

I…don't really have a lot to say here that I haven't already said before. Maybe that'll change the next time I get a chapter out for this.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter sixteen: Gazing into the Starlit Sky

Lincoln, once again in the guise of Broken Mirror, watched his target, a member of the violent youth gang who knocked over an elderly woman before snatching her purse and running off, from the shadows. From what the white-haired boy had heard, the violent youth gang has been trying to make Great Lakes City their personal stomping grounds. They were causing significant trouble for everyone in the city; not only that, but local law enforcement was apparently doing nothing about them. It was clear that the gang was never going to stop on their own.

…Which was why _he_ decided to be the one to bring the gang to a stop.

Moving quietly but quickly through the shadows and from behind cover, the white-haired boy went after his target. After a few turns, he eventually caught up to the gang member. Lincoln threw a swift punch to the side of the gang member's head, causing him to stumble a bit and drop the purse he stole. After he recovered, the gang member saw him, and it was clear that he was expecting someone else, due to the confused look on his face.

"Who the hell are you?!" the gang member snapped as he raised his fists to Broken Mirror. Spitting to the side (getting a small bit of blood out of his mouth in the process), the gang member snarled, "You want to go, you little turd?!" The white-haired boy said nothing in response to the gang member's challenge. Instead, with a cool and steady motion, Lincoln took out the butterfly knife that he lifted from a gang hideout he raided a short while ago. The gang member's eyes widened in shock as his eyes fell upon the weapon.

"…The fuck is that?" the gang member said as he pointed to Lincoln's blade. Without an answer, without ever even saying anything, the white-haired boy just ran forward towards the punk, alarming him. "Hey, wait a minute!" the gang member began in a panicking tone that clearly conveyed that he was trying to bargain, "We can work something-"

*SHUK*

Broken Mirror was never in any mood to hear any bargaining from members of the violent youth gang. Not now, not ever. The white-haired boy had a job to do, this much he knew. And wasting time listening to hypocritical begging coming from the mouths of members of the violent youth gang was not something that he could afford. After wiping his blade on the gang member's jacket, Lincoln took out one of his calling cards, laid it on the gang member, went over to collect the stolen purse, set the purse on top of the gang member as well, and then took his leave.

Broken Mirror never stuck around for very long.

…

Lincoln jolted awake from yet another dream with a yelp, another nightmare where he took a life. The white-haired boy remembered that in the dream, he had only taken the life of some random gang member who contributed to Great Lakes City's problem; it wasn't any of Lincoln's ex-sisters, and it thankfully wasn't any of the sisters that Lincoln had since reconciled with for their part in what drove him away in the first place. But the white-haired boy took little comfort from that fact. The fact still remained that he had killed someone in his dream.

As he sat up in bed, Lincoln breathed in and out to catch his breath, a cold sweat brought on by his nightmare coating him here and there. As Lincoln slowly inhaled and exhaled, Lori came running into his room, having been summoned by the sound of Lincoln screaming as he jolted awake. "Are you okay, Lincoln?" Lori asked in a concerned tone.

"It's…it's nothing," Lincoln replied as he reassured the oldest of his ex-sisters, "I just had a bit of a nightmare is all."

Remembering the truth of Lincoln's last major nightmare when she was given the details by Bobby, Lori knew that she had to act carefully. "…The Scottish girl and her arsonist bunny again?" asked the oldest Loud sister.

Gently shaking his head, Lincoln said, "Yeah. The bunny ended up burning down some big fancy tourist attraction."

Lori slowly walked over to her little brother's bed, sat down next to him, and then gently laid a hand on his back. "Still silly, but it still has you literally spooked, huh?" Lori asked.

Lincoln asked his ex-sister while giving her a mildly unamused wry look, "If you repeatedly had nightmares, regardless of how silly said nightmares might ultimately be, wouldn't you also be spooked as all get out?"

Nodding slowly a bit in agreement, Lori remarked, "You got me there, Lincoln." Getting up from where she sat, Lori asked in a concerned tone, "Are you sure you will be okay?"

"I'll be fine," Lincoln replied, "Thank you for the concern." Getting back under the covers of his bed, Lincoln said, "Now then, if you don't mind, I'd like to try to get back to bed."

"Got it," Lori replied as she took the cue to leave, opening Lincoln's bedroom door, and closing it after she exited the room. Alone in his room once again, the white-haired boy, still spooked by the dream that he just woke up from, tried to return to the realm of sleep once more, hoping that he'd have dreams of a more pleasant nature.

…

Lori told the other Loud girls as they stood in the hallway outside of Lincoln's closed bedroom door, "…He's literally still having nightmares, I'm afraid."

"Ooh, can't we do anything to help him?" Leni said in a worried tone, clearly concerned for her younger brother's well-being, "It's, like, totes unfair that Linky has to deal with this."

"Unfair like how the lot of us made him out into a pariah?" Lynn retorted, clearly guilty for her role in what had compelled the sole Loud boy to run away.

"Girls, there's literally nothing we can do right now," Lori said to the other Loud girls, "We ought to tackle this problem in the morning. For now, we should all head back to bed. No use in staying up this late."

The other girls all agreed with what the oldest of their number had said, and thus they proceeded to head on off back to bed. As the group of girls dispersed, Lisa said in her usual dry monotone, "Lynn, I am surprised that you not only know the word 'pariah', but that you know how to use it correctly."

"…Shut up," Lynn retorted in a dry, unamused tone before heading back to her and Lucy's room to go back to bed.

* * *

The following day, Lincoln was over in the Ace family's backyard. In recent events, the white-haired boy had taken up practicing Kendo, and he was being tutored by Aggro Ace, the younger twin brother of Allison, who is friends with Lori, the oldest of Lincoln's ex-sisters. The male Ace twin was having Lincoln practice some moves using a bokken; the bokken that Lincoln was using for practice was a few inches shorter than Morning Sun, Aggro's personal bokken, and it was of a whitish wooden color. Additionally, unlike Morning Sun, the bokken that Lincoln was using lacked any sort of wrap around the hilt end. As for Aggro himself, he was also practicing Kendo moves alongside Lincoln, using Morning Sun.

"…We ought to take a break, Lincoln-kun," Aggro said, catching Lincoln off guard a bit, "We've been at this for a fair enough amount of time."

"Alright, Aggro-sensei," Lincoln replied as he straightened up. The male Ace teen led Lincoln into the Ace family residence, and into the kitchen for a snack break.

…

"…Something is troubling you, Lincoln-kun," Aggro remarked as he and Lincoln sat at a dining table across from each other. Lincoln was eating some sort of sweet snack that was provided to him, whereas Aggro was having a can of his favorite brand of Root Beer. When the white-haired boy looked up to him from his snack, Aggro continued, "I've been tutoring you in kendo for the past few weeks now, and today was the first time that I have ever seen you so distracted. I can tell that it's something rather troubling, given how distant you seemed when I had you go over some drills." Straightening up a bit, the male Ace twin said, "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"…I had a rather disturbing nightmare last night," Lincoln replied after a few seconds.

"Another nightmare, huh?" Aggro remarked in a mildly curious tone. After thinking for a bit, Aggro asked, "Might this nightmare of yours be related to the nightmare that you told Bobby and I about back at the birthday party that Astrid's friend had at Odin-Dono's?"

Nodding a bit somberly, Lincoln replied in a bit of a troubled tone, "…Kind of. I chased down and killed someone, similar to the dream I had where I did the same to Lori."

"Would I be correct in assuming that the person from your latest nightmare was another one of your sisters, or some other relative of yours?" Aggro asked.

In response to his Kendo instructor's question, Lincoln gently shook his head. "No. It was a remorseless criminal," the white-haired boy replied.

"A remorseless criminal, you say," Aggro remarked, his interest piqued.

"I can remember from my dream that local police weren't doing anything to stop him," Lincoln went on, "Even though he was a major problem for the city. He also was clearly never going to stop on his own. Before I had gotten to him, he assaulted an old lady and stole her purse. That's when I chased him into an alleyway and…and…"

"Lincoln-kun, relax," Aggro said, getting his student to calm down. After giving a mildly resigned-sounding sigh, the male Ace twin asked, "I don't suppose that Lori ever tell you about the time where I killed a man?"

Upon hearing what his Kendo tutor just said, Lincoln looked up to him with a look of shock on his eleven-year-old face. "You…you actually killed a man, Aggro-sensei?" Lincoln asked, not believing what he had just heard.

Nodding gently a few times in the affirmative, Aggro explained, "This happened roughly five years ago, back when Allison, Lori and I were all still in middle school."

"…That would be during Lori's quote unquote 'awkward phase'," Lincoln remarked.

"If by awkward phase you mean back when Lori still wore braces and glasses, then yes," Aggro replied, "Lori said that she referred to that period of her life as her awkward phase, but we're getting off subject here." Taking a calming breath, the male Ace twin began, "Allison had invited Lori over to spend the night. Sometime during the night, a burglar broke in and was trying to rob the place. Astrid, who was only six years old at the time, saw the burglar and promptly freaked out. I rightly feared for Astrid's safety, so…" Reaching down to where he had something leaning against the table, Aggro grabbed Moring Sun by its hilt in a reverse grip, and held it up just enough for Lincoln to see.

"…I ended up killing the burglar, using Morning Sun to carry out the deed," Aggro said as he finished up his tale. Setting his bokken back where he had it, Aggro continued, "The most the burglar had on hand was a crowbar, which I believe was the main reason I had such an easy time against him. If he had a gun, then I would have been a hell of a lot more frightened. Still, none of that changes the fact that I ended up taking a life back before I had reached my teens." Lincoln nodded in an understanding manner as he listened to his sensei's story. Granted, Lincoln had killed a bit sooner than his sensei, and had claimed more lives than just that of one lone man, but the story still resonated with the white-haired boy to a degree.

Giving Lincoln a gentle, understanding look, Aggro said, "…I believe that your nightmare from last night and the incident back when I was twelve have a lot in common, Lincoln-kun."

A curious and mildly confused look on his face, Lincoln asked, "What do you mean by that, Aggro-sensei?"

"You said the person that you had killed in your nightmare last night was a criminal that not only was never going to stop on his own, but nothing was being done to stop him, correct?" Aggro began, and after Lincoln nodded in the affirmative, Aggro continued, "Although it was a rather violent way to do so, you did what had to be done in your nightmare. That burglar from five years ago not only was going to rob my family, but I had every reason to believe he might have harmed one of my siblings. And my family was still trying to get over my aunt and uncle getting killed in that car crash, which happened a week and a half before the attempted burglary." Giving Lincoln a serious but understanding look, the male Ace twin continued, "If doing so is seriously the only way to keep something much worse from happening or allowing that something worse to continue, then there isn't anything wrong with taking things to their logical extreme. Although I pray that you never have to find yourself in such a spot, Lincoln-kun."

Smiling in a sympathetic manner, Lincoln said, "Thanks, Aggro-sensei." With his mood lightened, if only just a little, the white-haired boy resumed eating his snack, but about midway through, he heard some excited animal noises from the floor next to where he sat. Looking down to his left, Lincoln saw a young adult skunk, moving in place on the floor to the left of Lincoln's seat. "You can't have any, Spirit," Lincoln said to the skunk that was looking up at him, "This food isn't for skunks"

"Heh," Aggro said with an amused chuckle, "I take it that Amy's pet skunk is bothering you?" Before Lincoln could speak, some yipping came from Aggro's side of the table. Looking down to his right, the male Ace twin reached down, picked something up, and placed a young adult red fox on his lap. "And we don't have any food for foxes either, Kyubi," Aggro said the fox on his lap as he gently stoked her head, eliciting a happy-sounding purring of some kind from the fox. Looking to his student, Aggro said, "Now's about the time to make sure there's food in Kyubi's, Spirit's and Fenrir's respective dishes. Would you care to help me, Lincoln-kun?"

"I'm surprised that your twin sister's dog can put away as much food as he does," Lincoln remarked in a tone of agreement as he got up off of his seat. At the same time that Lincoln got up, Aggro set Kyubi down on the floor and got up off of his seat as well.

With a bit of an amused chuckle, Aggro explained as he and Lincoln went about filling the pet food dishes, "That, Lincoln-kun, is what Allison would refer to as a quote unquote 'warrior's appetite'."

* * *

One day over at the Ace residence, after Lincoln's practice with Aggro was done for the day, Aggro said as he and Lincoln changed from their Kendo practice outfits back to their regular clothes, "Oh Lincoln-kun, before I forget, there's going to be a Kendo tournament this Saturday over at the youth center. Would you be interested in going to watch?"

"There's a Kendo tournament at the youth center?" Lincoln asked.

Nodding in confirmation, Aggro said as he began to explain, "It's for kids in the Royal Woods area. It'll be similar to the youth group football game in which you and a bunch of kids were playing against a similar team from the next town over." Standing up, Aggro said as he rolled his shoulders, "There is much that you can learn from watching others compete."

Since day one of Lincoln learning Kendo from the male Ace twin, whenever the white-haired boy would go over to the Ace residence for a lesson, his older ex-sister Leni would occasionally (i.e. frequently) come over to watch him practice with Aggro. Today just so happened to be one of the (many) days that Leni had come over to watch the two guys practice the way of the sword, and as such she heard what Aggro had just told Lincoln. "Why can't Linky, like, enter the tournament himself?" Leni asked.

"…Technically, Lincoln-kun could enter if he wants to," Aggro replied in an 'ehh' kind of tone, "And the tournament's basically open to any kid who wishes to enter, regardless of how much training, if any, the kid may have. I'm still trying to figure out what the people organizing the tournament are even thinking with that." To Lincoln, Aggro said, "If you feel confident enough about it, I won't stop you from entering, Lincoln-kun. Although I'd still rather that you spend more time practicing and training before you enter such an event."

"But Linky's had you as his teacher," the fashionable Loud sister pointed out, "And you're, like, the best person in the world at this, Aggro! Surely Linky's ready to make it to the top!"

Laughing in a good-natured tone, Aggro replied, "Thanks for the flattery Leni, but I highly doubt that I'm the best Kendo practitioner in the world." Turning his head to face Lincoln, the male Ace twin said, "Well Lincoln-kun, what do you think? Are you ready to enter the tournament?"

With a shrug, the white-haired boy replied, "There's only one real way to find out."

Smirking in mild amusement, Aggro said, "That's a good attitude. Going to the tournament will be a valuable learning experience either way, but there is more to gleam from doing rather than watching." Stretching his arms upwards, Aggro said, "You'll have to ask one of your parents for the okay to enter, but if you do get the okay, then I'll look into getting you signed up."

"EEEEEE!" Leni squealed excitedly, "This is so exciting! Linky's going to compete in a sword fighting game!" As the fashionable Loud sister hopped up and down in excitement, Aggro merely sighed in a mildly exasperated tone as he pinched the bridge of his nose while muttering about how Kendo was an actual martial art.

* * *

When the day of the tournament came, Lincoln and Aggro found themselves at the local youth center, standing in the youth center's gymnasium. "It's a good thing that I was able to sign you up ahead of time," Aggro remarked to his student, "As there's apparently a bit of a shortage when it comes to the Bogu sets. At least they have enough shinai for everyone."

"More than enough, if you ask me," the white-haired boy remarked, "I saw a container with a bunch of shinai sticking out of it."

"Shinai may break or splinter, which would make them unsafe for use," Aggro explained. As Lincoln nodded in understanding to what Aggro had said, the two boys heard Leni's voice call out, getting their attention in the process. The two boys turned to see Rita (who was carrying Lily), Luan, Lola, Lynn and all of Lincoln's ex-sisters come walking up.

"So, Lincoln," Rita began in a tone of mild trepidation, "This…this is your first tournament."

Looking up at her older brother, Lola asked, "Leni said that you're going to be doing a serious version of the play sword fighting that we do whenever Lana and I can convince you to play Knights and castles with us. Is that true, Lincoln? Are you going to be a knight?"

"Well, the tournament I'm going to enter is a serious version of when I play with you girls," Lincoln replied, "Although it's not actually playing. Also, I think I'd be more akin to a samurai than a knight."

"There's something that I'm, like, wondering about," Leni began in a mildly curious tone, "I saw a bunch of swords that look like they're made of bamboo that's tied together sticking out of a few barrels. Are they, like, variations of that bokky sword you and Aggro use for practicing?"

Speaking up, Aggro said began to explain to Leni, "The correct pronunciation is 'bokken', and the swords that you saw are not bokken, they're shinai. Bokken are used when one is practicing Kendo movements on their own, and shinai are used when sparring against an opponent. The kids competing in today's tournament will be using shinai when going up against each other."

"Is that, like, important?" Leni asked.

"Aggro-sensei told me something about how it's kind of dangerous for two people sparring against each other in Kendo to use bokken, so shinai are used instead," Lincoln said.

Nodding in an approving manner to Lincoln, Aggro said, "That's right." Turning to face Rita and the Loud sisters, the male Ace twin continued, "Shinai, similar to bokken, come in varying lengths and weights, but the ones that the kids competing in today's tournament will be using are all the same length and weight."

"I'm guessing that's to make everything fair?" Lynn asked.

"Exactly," Aggro answered, "The people running things today will be keeping an eye on the length and weight of the shinai that are used. I once made it to the final round of a Kendo tournament because my opponent before the final round was discovered to have been using a shinai that was heavier than mine. My opponent ended up being disqualified."

"So that was like cheating," Lynn said.

"More or less," Aggro replied, "Another reason for the people keeping an eye on the shinai being used is in case one of the shinai breaks or splinters, which would render the shinai unsafe for use. There's a reason why so many extra shinai were brought in for the tournament."

Nodding in agreement, Luna remarked, "That sounds like a pretty solid reason."

"This is going to be awesome!" Lana said excitedly as she pumped a fist into the air, "My older brother's going to kick so much butt today!" Lana, along with Lola, both proceeded to talk about a mile a minute, asking Lincoln a million questions. Aggro watched this with some amusement, given how the behavior of the Loud twins reminded him of Anna, the youngest of his sisters and youngest Ace sibling overall.

* * *

The Kendo tournament was off to a well enough start, with Lincoln getting past the first few rounds without much difficulty. Rita and the Loud girls all cheered whenever the white-haired boy won a match. The booming cheering that the Loud girls all gave from behind where Aggro sat made him believe that the Louds certainly live up to their family name.

Speaking of Aggro himself, even though he still would have preferred that Lincoln had more training before entering a tournament like this, he was amazed by how Lincoln made it past the first few rounds. That in itself was, as far as the male Ace twin was concerned, praise-worthy, and he fully intended to congratulate his student for the progress that he had shown so far in the tournament, even if Lincoln ended up getting eliminated at some point.

"_Well I have certainly been proven wrong_," Aggro thought he watched Lincoln win his latest match before an intermission to give the competitors still in the tournament a chance to catch their breath before the matches resumed, as well as give family members a chance to congratulate their kids for getting so far, "_I owe him an apology for underestimating him_."

* * *

To Aggro's amused surprise and the happiness of Lincoln's family (both acknowledged and currently scorned), the white-haired boy made it to the final round of the Kendo tournament. "Hey everyone," Lynn said as she came back to her group after leaving to get a soda from a vending machine. Popping the top off of her drink, Lynn asked, "What did I miss?"

"Lincoln literally made it to the final round," Lori replied, a hint of apprehension in her tone. The oldest Loud sister's apprehension did not go by unnoticed by her sporty younger sister.

With a curious look on her face, Lynn asked, "Why do you sound worried, Lori? I mean, Lincoln is in the final round of a martial arts tournament! What's not to like about that?"

"Lori is concerned because Lincoln-kun's opponent is some boy by the name of Francisco," Aggro explained in a casual tone, "I don't see what the big deal is, though."

Upon hearing the name of her ex-crush, Lynn's eyes shot wide open. "…What?" the sporty Loud sibling said, no discernable emotion in her tone.

"…It appears that I'm going to have to be filled in here," Aggro said to the other Louds.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lori explained, "That Francisco boy you just mentioned, Aggro. Lynn used to have a crush on him, but then when the baseball team Francisco belonged to tried to cheat in a game against the team that Lynn belonged to, and that cheating was discovered, Lynn was literally devastated, even though Francisco didn't commit any of the actual cheating himself." Crossing her arms over her chest, Lori added, "But after what happened during the student body elections over at Lynn's school, I'm doubting what Francisco said in his own defense, not that I ever believed a single word out of that twerp."

"…Oh my," Aggro remarked in a mildly concerned tone. To Lynn specifically, the male Ace twin asked, "You are doing better now, aren't you?"

Nodding gently in the affirmative, Lynn replied, "I am doing better, yes. And I found someone else who's a much better guy than that bastard I used to like." Shaking her head gently, the sporty Loud sister said, "But that's beside the point. The point here now is that Lincoln is totally going to mop the floor with Francisco."

"One can only hope," Aggro replied as he and everyone he was talking to turned back around so they can watch the match between Lincoln and Francisco. As the two boys stepped up to take their respective places, the cheering in the gymnasium reached a fever pitch, in no small part thanks to a certain family who _literally_ has Loud as their last name, cheering for their only son, their only brother. The Louds gave it their all, in hopes that Lincoln would win.

…

"Game, set and match!" the referee for the Kendo tournament announced, "Francisco wins!" The audience in the youth center gymnasium cheered loudly as Francisco was announced as the winner, although a certain family wasn't all that happy with the thirteen-year-old boy's victory.

"I can't believe that son of a bitch won!" Lynn swore vengefully as she stood up from where she sat rather forcefully, "I ought to put a knuckle sandwich right into his smug fu-"

Looking to Lynn with a look of mildly alarmed worry on his face, Aggro said to the sporty Loud sister, "I understand that you're upset over Lincoln-kun losing the match, and to a boy who broke your heart, no less. But in all fairness, it was a fair match. You should be proud of the fact that Lincoln-kun made it to the final round of the first tournament that he ever entered. Even I wasn't expecting him to get so far, given how recently I've started tutoring him in Kendo."

Sighing in a relenting tone, Lynn replied as she sat back down, "I know. But I still can't-"

"Hey, what are those guys down there talking about talking to the referee about?" Lola asked, cutting Lynn off as she pointed to two men talking to the referee. After a few seconds, the referee called Francisco over, and apparently asked to see his shinai. Receiving the shinai from Lynn's former crush, the referee then picked up one of the shinai that was made standard for the tournament, and proceeded to compare the two bamboo swords, as if to try and see some sort of quality that the two of them had.

Turning around to face the crowd, the referee announced, "Attention everyone! There's been a mistake! Francisco's been disqualified, meaning that the winner is actually Lincoln!"

"Linky actually won?" Leni practically exclaimed, "Hooray!"

"Wait a minute," Lynn began in a suspicious tone, "What did the referee mean by saying that Francisco was disqualified?"

Sighing in a resigned tone, Aggro remarked, "…I was hoping that something like this wouldn't happen in a tournament that Lincoln-kun entered, but since the referee was comparing the shinai he received from that Francisco boy to one of the standard issue shinai for the tournament, I believe that Francisco was using a heavier shinai than the one that Lincoln-kun was using." With a mildly grim look on his face, Aggro said, "Francisco was disqualified for cheating." Turning to face the Louds, Aggro added, "Although if it makes you feel any better, this means that Lincoln-kun won the first Kendo tournament he ever entered."

"…I'm going to destroy Francisco," Lynn said, "Both for cheating in a sporting slash martial art event, and for cheating against my little brother. I will break him, mark my words."

"She'll cool down once I take her and all of her siblings out at the pizza place to celebrate Lincoln winning," Rita said to Aggro. Both the Loud matriarch and the Kendo instructor regarded the sporty Loud girl with looks of concern.

* * *

Later that evening over at the Loud family residence, just as stars started to appear in the evening sky above, Lincoln was standing in front of the family's trophy case with Lynn and Leni. Inside of the case in the space reserved for Lincoln was a golden trophy, roughly one foot tall, which signified that the white-haired boy had won a Kendo tournament. "Hey, what happened to that trophy we made for Linky?" Leni asked, noticing that Lincoln's Kendo trophy was alone.

"Lola and Lana were trying to wrestle Charles into some outfit, and in the struggle, they bumped into the trophy case hard enough to make it pop open and cause some of the awards inside to fall out and onto the floor," Lynn explained, "The trophy we made for Lincoln was broken, along with two of my baseball trophies."

"Sorry to hear some of your trophies broke," Lincoln said to his sporty sister.

With a dismissive wave of her hand, Lynn said, "No need to sweat it, bro. They were baseball trophies." Turning back to face the trophy case, Lynn said, "But we're getting off subject here. You won a trophy, Lincoln, and it's a first place one, at that." Lynn then reached up and placed her right hand on the top of Lincoln's head. "Not bad, Lincoln," Lynn said somewhat gently as she ruffled her younger brother's hair, "Not bad at all."

Smiling appreciatively, Lincoln said, "Thanks, Lynn. I still can't believe that-" Lincoln was cut off midsentence when he, his sporty sister and his ditzy ex-sister heard a knock at the front door. The three of them went to the door to answer it, and Leni opened it to reveal Aggro standing there. In addition to the bokken carrying case over Aggro's back that held Morning Sun, there was another bokken carrying case over Aggro's back, peeking out from behind his left shoulder and right hip. This let him give off the aura of a certain dual-wielding swordsman that's known as the Hero of Aincrad.

"I'm sorry if this is an inconvenient time," the male Ace twin began, "But I wanted to bring something by to Lincoln-kun, as a sort of congratulatory present for winning his first Kendo tournament." Taking off the bokken carrying case that didn't hold Morning Sun, Aggro opened it and drew out the bokken that was inside. About an inch shorter than Morning Sun, this second bokken was still just as thick. The second bokken was a whitish wood color, and the faux leather wrapping around the end that served as the hilt had blue threading as opposed to the red threading on Morning Sun's hilt. Placing the second bokken back into its carrying case, Aggro handed it to Lincoln while saying, "Here you go, Lincoln-kun. This is for you."

"You're giving Linky a wooden sword?" Leni asked, clearly shocked that Aggro was showing such generosity.

"It's about high time that Lincoln-kun got his own bokken," Aggro remarked, "I picked this up from a specialty store. Now he can get some practice in here at home, instead of having to rely exclusively on his visits to my family's place."

"Th-thank you, Aggro-sensei," the white-haired boy replied, surprised that his Kendo instructor bothered to go through the trouble of getting him his own bokken, and one that was of such a high quality, no less.

"Does Linky's new wooden sword have a name like yours, Aggro?" Leni asked.

With a mildly amused look on his face, Aggro replied, "That's up to Lincoln-kun to determine. But if I were him, I'd try to some up with a meaningful name."

"How about Idiot Beater?" Lynn suggested, "Because Lincoln should use it to beat Francisco? Or maybe Jerk Wrecker, or-"

"It's your brother's decision, Lynn," Aggro interrupted, "Now then, I believe I've intruded on your time enough, so I'll be taking my leave." Aggro turned around to leave, but he stopped short when he looked up. "…Wow, the night sky's rather clear tonight," Aggro remarked as he looked up into the night sky.

Curious, Lincoln, Lynn and Leni all walked out to where Aggro stood and looked up into the night sky. The skies could not be clearer, allowing the stars above to shine at their brightest. "…A while ago, my family and I went to Lake Superior," Aggro remarked, "At night, when we looked up into the skies, we saw the Aurora Borealis lights. Allison said that the lights were caused by Odin trying to give a worthy warrior a sign of approval."

"Even without those pretty northern lights you're talking about Aggro, this starlit sky is, like, totes pretty," Leni remarked. Looking to her siblings, Leni asked, "What do you guys think?"

"Yeah, Leni," Lincoln agreed, "It's rather-" The white-haired boy stopped short as a look of inspiration crossed his face. "…That's it," Lincoln said.

"What's up?" Lynn asked, turning to face her younger brother.

Looking back down, Lincoln held the carrying case that held his new bokken in both hands. "I know what to name my bokken," Lincoln replied. The white-haired boy took his bokken out of its carrying case, and held it up, his right hand gripping the bokken's hilt, so that it was up against the night sky. "I'm going to name it Starlit Sky," Lincoln said.

With an amused smile on his face, Aggro remarked, "…Now that's as fine of a name as I ever heard of for a sword, Lincoln-kun. Not bad."

"What Leni said just now gave me the idea," Lincoln explained as he returned Starlit Sky back to its carrying case. Looking up at his instructor, Lincoln said, "Thanks again, Aggro-sensei."

"No problem, Lincoln-kun," Aggro replied, "Just don't forget to keep up with your training, alright?" After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, Aggro took his leave for real, leaving Lincoln, Lynn and Leni alone.

"Well, you guys," Lynn said as she turned to face her siblings, "We ought to get back inside." Nodding in agreement with the sporty Loud girl, Lincoln and Leni both followed her back into the Loud family house, and soon afterwards, everyone settled down for bed.

…

Lincoln was once again in one of the alleyways of Great Lakes City, once again in the guise of Broken Mirror. The white-haired boy chased down and killed yet another member of the violent youth gang. Just as he got up from his latest kill, Lincoln came to his senses, stumbling back a bit out of shock of what he had just done.

"_Why_…" Lincoln thought as he shook his head, "…_Why does this keep happening to me_…?" Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared, blinding Lincoln. The white-haired boy then felt himself thrown back by some sort of force. When the light had finally died down, Lincoln stood up. When he did, what he saw shocked him. The first thing that Lincoln saw, lying about a few feet away, was an exact copy of himself, dressed as Broken Mirror. Looking down, Lincoln saw that he himself was dressed as he normally was. The second thing that Lincoln saw, floating horizontally a few feet above the ground of the alleyway, was Starlit Sky.

Broken Mirror, seeing the floating bokken, got up and tried to make a grab for it. But Lincoln was quicker, and not only did he grab Starlit Sky first, but he swung it at Broken Mirror in a diagonal slashing motion, striking the masked vigilante across his body from his right shoulder to his left hip. Broken Mirror, to Lincoln's confusion, then vanished in a swirl of dark purple smoke. After the vigilante was gone, Starlit Sky radiated with a bright, comforting glow.

The white-haired boy's vision went blank white for a moment, but when vision returned to him, Lincoln saw that he was standing in his ex-family's front yard at night. Looking around, Lincoln saw that nothing was off; it was just a typical Royal Woods night as far as he could tell. The only thing different was that Lincoln still held Starlit Sky.

As he stood there, Lincoln held up his bokken and looked at it; it had done away with his vigilante self, then brought him from the cold and unforgiving world of Great Lakes City to the warm and familiar environment of his home town. Lincoln didn't have any idea on how all of this happened, but there was one thing that he _did_ understand.

He was back home.

…

Lincoln woke up with a bit of a start. Looking over at an alarm clock, Lincoln saw that it was roughly five-thirty in the morning. Getting up out of bed, Lincoln walked over to his dresser. Laying across the top of the dresser was Starlit Sky, still in its carrying case. The white-haired boy laid a hand over the carrying case that held his bokken as he let out a sigh. He was having one of his nightmares where he was back to being Broken Mirror. But then Lincoln and Broken Mirror became two separate people, Starlit Sky appeared in the dream, Lincoln took it, and then used it to destroy Broken Mirror.

Would…would Lincoln finally be able to find peace at night now? Would this bokken continue to banish the nightmares, just as it had done now?

Shrugging, the white-haired boy decided to ponder about it as he went back to bed and laid there until the first of the Loud girls got up.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Author's note:

This used to be a longer chapter, but I made some serious edits to it. I fixed a number of spelling errors that I found, as well as make a few changes to the chapter so as to better bit the story's new narrative. I also removed two big scenes that was present in the original; one between three grown men, and another between Chandler and his cousin Kara. Speaking of, the two of them will be showing up next time, so until then, take care.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter seventeen: The Chandler tales, part two

Chandler McCann, an eleven-year-old boy who is a fifth grader at Royal Woods Elementary School, was relaxing at home one day after classes at his school were out for the day. The red-headed boy had no homework, so he was free to hole up in his bedroom on the second floor of his family's house, playing video games on his Playtendo Swap until it was time for dinner. And from what he had gathered, Chandler felt like he was going to enjoy dinner tonight.

It wasn't because his mom was making his favorite meal tonight, though.

Chandler was in a particularly good mood, given that his most recent gambit to mess with Francisco, the son of the man who Chandler's dad is competing with for that big promotion at the sewage treatment plant, not only worked, but it went off without a hitch. The red-headed boy even got Francisco suspended from the middle school, mostly because Chandler, his older cousin Kara, and two of Chandler's friends Frank and Richie, had planted evidence framing Francisco for an incident that sent a thirteen-year-old girl to Royal Woods General.

Having reached a good spot in the game he was currently playing so that he could pause, Chandler got up from where he sat cross-legged on the floor in his bedroom and stretched a bit. Looking over to the clock on the wall in his room, the red-headed boy saw that it was about time for dinner. Going back to his video game, Chandler simply saved his progress, brought his system to its home menu, then left things like that before leaving his room to go downstairs.

…

Due to Chandler's dad being absent for reasons related to work, it was just Chandler himself and his mom eating dinner that night. Mrs. McCann was a fair-skinned woman with a slim yet healthy body. She had wavy blond hair that almost reached her waist, she wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans that were held up with a belt, and a pair of sandals. Mrs. McCann's shirt was a bit stretched over her upper chest area, due to her undeniable…assets.

"So mom," Chandler began in a casual, conversational tone, "You said something about dad not being able to be here for dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, he and a few of his co-workers had to put in for some overtime," Mrs. McCann replied. After pausing for a bit to reconsider what she said, Mrs. McCann said, "Or rather, your father's co-workers had to. Your father himself, on the other hand, didn't have to but figured that if he took the overtime anyway, the additional time worked would make him look more eligible for that big promotion that he's trying to chase after."

The red-headed boy nodded in agreement, understanding the logic behind his dad putting in for that overtime, even though he technically didn't need it. "Oh, I got a call from your Aunt Koby earlier today," Mrs. McCann said to her son.

"Oh?" Chandler replied after he chewed and swallowed a mouthful of enchilada (his mom made some _amazing_ Mexican dishes, despite being very much white), "How is Aunt Koby doing?"

"Your aunt's fine," Mrs. McCann replied, "But then again she's my sister, so it's kind of a given. Anyway, your Aunt Koby told me that her husband recently got your cousin Kara into some local youth football team here in Royal Woods."

Having heard what his mother had just said, the red-headed boy took pause. Chandler knew full well that his older cousin Kara absolutely _loathed_ sports, only taking part in them because her father was trying to force his passion for sports onto her; as a matter of fact, the thirteen-year-old girl was a member of the recently disqualified youth baseball team, only being freed from her silent suffering when she told Chandler about her teams cheating and he (secretly) leaked word of it as a favor to her.

Chandler gently placed his fork down before turning to look at his mom. "…Kara's on a local youth football team, huh?" the red-headed boy asked.

"Yeah, I know," Mrs. McCann began in a knowing, understanding tone, "Koby told me that her daughter isn't all that much into sports as a whole. But your uncle insists that your cousin take part in as many sports as she can." With a mildly worried look on her face, Mrs. McCann added, "I think your uncle was more upset over your cousin not having to play baseball for the rest of the season than he was with your cousin's youth baseball team being disqualified." As Chandler picked his fork back up, his mom said, "Anyway, your cousin's first football game is tomorrow."

Looking over to his mother, Chandler asked, "Really?"

"I know that you're about as interest in sports as your cousin is," Mrs. McCann began, "But I still think it would be really nice of you if you went to your cousin's game tomorrow to be there for her."

"…Actually, yeah," Chandler replied, "I think I will go and see Kara's football game tomorrow."

The McCann matriarch looked to her son, giving a small but warm smile. "Thanks, Chandler," Mrs. McCann remarked, "I'm sure that your cousin will appreciate having some family be there for her during tomorrow's game."

The red-headed boy merely nodded in agreement before he resumed eating his enchilada. He figured that at the very least, going out to see Kara's youth football game tomorrow would get him out of the house for a bit. Maybe if he was lucky, Chandler would find a way to get Kara out of having to play on the youth football team.

But then again, given that the incident with Kara's old baseball team being disqualified due to their cheating, officials have been cracking down on all youth sports teams in Royal Woods rather hard. Because of that, the red-headed boy had every reason to believe that Kara's youth football team was legit, meaning that the thirteen-year-old girl was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But who knows?

Maybe something will come up.

* * *

Something _did_ come up. During the game itself, in fact.

Chandler, from where he sat in the bleachers at the youth football game, saw at least seven kids on Kara's team dogpile onto one kid from the opposing team in order to keep him from scoring a touchdown. After the kid that as dogpiled on was escorted off the field, his team continued to play the game, ultimately winning against Kara's team.

As Chandler got up from where he sat and proceeded to make his way down the bleachers, he overheard a few adults getting into an argument. From what he saw, Chandler noticed a few parents chewing out the coach of Kara's team, accusing him of turning a blind eye to the brutal actions of the kids that he was supposed to keep in check.

After a particularly angry father gave Kara's coach an earful, Chandler learned from having overheard that earful that the problem that he and the other parents were complaining about was a rather persistent problem, and that the coach ought to count himself lucky that the kid that was dogpiled on didn't need to be treated at the hospital, unlike with a few similar incidents in the past. As it stood, the angry father, as well as most of the parents of the kids, were going to take action against the coach for his sheer incompetence and inability to properly reel in the kids that were on his team.

Sometime later that afternoon, while Chandler was hanging out at home with his friends Sid and Trent, both of whom came by to check out the new video game that Chandler got, the red-headed boy heard that not only was the coach of Kara's youth football team fired, but most of the kids on Kara's team, specifically those guilty of taking part in the dogpile, as well as other notable kids on the team known to be more aggressive than need be, were kicked off. Due to how many kids had been kicked off, Kara's team was too small to continue, so it was officially disbanded.

As a side note, Kara was NOT among the kids on her team that were involved in the dogpile, and she was NOT one of the kids on her team noted to have a troublesome record. …Not that she had been on the team long enough to have any sort of record anyway. Since Kara was, once again, not involved in any sort of sports, Chandler had no doubt that Kara's dad was already on the hunt for another sport to make Kara throw herself into completely.

"Hey Chandler," Sid began, getting the red-headed boy to look over, "You were at that youth football game earlier today, right?"

"Huh?" Chandler replied, then after realizing what Sid was saying added, "Oh yeah, I was."

"I heard that Lincoln Loud was on the team that won today's game," the red hoodie-wearing boy explained. With a bit of a troubled look on his face, Sid said, "I also heard that your cousin was on the team that lost the game today. Sorry about that."

Gently shaking his head in a gesture to show he didn't mind, the red-headed boy remarked, "Oh, it's no big deal. After all, Lincoln is a pretty tough dude, so any youth sport team that got him as a member should count themselves as lucky."

Trent, with a mildly confused look on his face, remarked, "You know, guys, I was under the impression that Lincoln didn't like sports at all, which begs the question. Why was he on that other youth football team in the first place?"

"Pfft, beats me," Chandler replied indifferently with a shrug. The three boys hung out for about another hour before Mrs. McCann said that Sid and Trent had to go home, as it was getting close to dinner time. Chandler's friends said their good-byes before taking their leave. Like it was the previous night, Chandler and his mom had dinner without Mr. McCann, who this time was out at a bar with a few of his fellows from work.

Chandler, glad to have so much time where his dad was NOT around, was okay with this.

* * *

The following afternoon, Chandler swung by where his aunt, uncle and cousin lived. Chandler's uncle was out at the time, but both Kara and her mom were home. Heading out into the backyard of the place when his aunt told him Kara was out there, Chandler saw his older cousin dressed in a white martial arts practicing outfit as she was swinging around what appeared to be some kind of sword that was made of a few wooden slats.

As Chandler, with a curious and mildly confused look on his face, approached her, Kara saw him coming and stopped mid-practice. Kara also saw the look of confusion on her younger cousin's face, so she figured that she ought to give him an explanation. "Yeah, this is Kendo," Kara began to explain, "It's some sort of martial art involving wooden swords. Granted, I don't really feel like doing martial arts either, but at least this has gotten me out of doing sports."

"Sorry that you're still being forced by your dad into doing stuff that you don't want to do," Chandler said, "But at least you've Hey wait a minute." Deviating midsentence, Chandler said, "I think that Astrid's older brother practices Kendo regularly." Nodding to himself a bit, the red-headed boy said, "Yeah. It is Astrid's oldest brother who does Kendo. He's also pretty good at it, if what I've heard Astrid say on the matter is true."

Nodding in the affirmative, Kara remarked, "Yeah, Aggro Ace is an expert in Kendo. I also heard that he's recently taken one of Astrid's classmates from her school under his wing in order to teach them Kendo."

Chandler, with a curious look on his face, said, "Astrid's older brother is tutoring someone in Kendo right now?"

"I don't know who it is," Kara replied, "But I heard that Aggro's student has an older sibling who goes to Royal Woods High, same as Aggro himself." Gesturing to her wooden sword made of slats, the thirteen-year-old girl said, "Well anyway, I better resume practicing."

Looking at his cousin's sword, Chandler said, "So that's the sword that you and others use when fighting in Kendo, right?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Kara explained, "Yeah, this is a shinai." With a hint of annoyance entering her expression, Kara continued, "However, when practicing movements on my own, I'm supposed to be using a bokken. My Kendo instructor is just too cheap to loan out bokkens, as well as overly paranoid that some of my classmates or I might hurt ourselves or others if we had bokken as opposed to shinai."

"There's a difference?" Chandler asked.

Kara casually tossed her shinai to the ground in the backyard, walked over to a table on the patio, picked up a book that was laying there, and walked back over to Chandler. Thirteen-year-old girl opened the book and flipped to a page that denoted the various swords used in Kendo. Showing the page in question to her cousin, Kara said, "The one on the top is a shinai, which is the sword that I have. The one under the shinai is a bokken."

"…That looks like the wooden sword that I've seen Aggro carry," Chandler said.

"Well he's had sufficient time to train and practice," Kara remarked before closing her book and putting it back where she got it from. Walking back to where she had tossed her shinai to the ground, Kara said as she crouched down to pick her sword up, "Well anyway, I have got to get back to practicing. I'm pretty sure that if my dad came in and saw that I wasn't doing anything, he'd chew my head off."

The red-headed boy nodded in understanding, giving his regards to Kara before taking his leave. After saying good-bye to his Aunt Koby, Chandler left to go home. This whole business around this sword-based martial art seemed interesting to Chandler. The older brother of the cutest girl at Royal Woods Elementary School was an absolute wiz at Kendo, and now Kara was taking part in Kendo as well (although only to avoid being forced to throw herself into sports).

Chandler could not help but wonder what more would come of this.

* * *

Sometime later, Chandler was once again visiting Kara at her place while she was practicing her Kendo movements. The thirteen-year-old girl was still doing so with a shinai, as opposed to a bokken which is the norm for practicing movements on one's own. "Hey cous," Kara began as she took a break from practicing, "There's going to be some sort of Kendo youth tournament at the local youth center this Saturday."

Chandler, who was more or less lounging in a lawn chair, looked up from his handheld video game system that he was playing. Although he wasn't looking, the red-headed boy was hearing Kara practice, as well as hearing everything Kara said. "…How do you know this?" Chandler asked as he regarded his older cousin.

"My mom found out and thought that it would be an excuse to get me and her out of the house for a few hours," Kara explained, "Time away from my sports-obsessed dad." With a wry look of mild amusement on her face, Kara continued, "You might also be interested to know that Francisco will also be taking part in the Kendo tournament this Saturday."

Having just heard that Francisco, the boy that Chandler is trying to make look bad so that Francisco's dad, who is competing with Chandler's dad at the sewage treatment plant for a promotion, would look bad by proxy thus upping Chandler's dad's odds of winning out in the end, was going to be taking part in that Kendo tournament got the red-headed boy's attention. "You don't say, Kara," Chandler replied, his tone a sign that his interest had been piqued. Getting up from the lawn chair he sat in, the red-headed boy continued, "This could be another chance to frame Francisco for some manner of wrongdoing in order to make him, and thus by extension his dad, look bad." With a curious look on his face, Chandler continued, "Although I don't have any idea on what I can do, seeing as how I know nothing of Kendo."

"I do, cous," Kara remarked, getting her younger cousin to look at her. With a bit of an amused smirk, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "Also, I know the prefect way to frame Francisco and get him into trouble at the Kendo tournament."

"Alright, Kara," the red-headed boy remarked as he gestured to his older cousin, "Shoot."

"Since the kids competing in the Kendo tournament will go up against each other in one-on-one bouts in an elimination-style deal," Kara began to explain, "They will all be using shinai. Shinai come in various lengths and weights, but the shinai that will be made standard in the tournament will all be the same length and weight."

With a confused look on his face, Chandler replied, "Your point being…"

"Screwing with Francisco will be as simple as swapping out his shinai when no one is looking with another shinai that is slightly heavier," Kara replied, "And it doesn't even need to be a really big difference. The shinai that will be used will all be about 114 centimeters long and 400 grams in weight. All we have to do is get a shinai that has a couple more grams in weight but still the same length as the tournament standard shinai."

"And…" Chandler said in a mildly uncertain tone, "…This will work?"

With a casual 'pfft' in a dismissive tone, the thirteen-year-old girl remarked, "It'll look really bad on Francisco when it's revealed that his shinai that he's using is heavier than the ones that everyone else is using. It's guaranteed to get him booted from the tournament." Although he was still unsure about this plan, mostly because he had no idea what Kara was talking about for the most part, Chandler nonetheless agreed to it. After all, if it further lowered Francisco's name thus further lowering Francisco's dad's name by extension, who was the red-headed boy to say no?

Clapping her hands together, Kara said, "Alright, cous! Just leave everything to me. I know what the standard shinai will look like for the tournament, and I know where to find one just like them for sale. All I have to do is buy one of the appropriate length and slightly increased weight, then everything after that will fall into place."

"I'm surprised that you're willing to go so far for me," Chandler remarked, "I mean, it's my dad aiming for that promotion at work, not yours."

Pointing to Chandler and herself with her left and right index fingers respectively, Kara said, "But you and I are cousins, extended family members. If one part of the McCann name scores it big time, other parts will get some bennies as well." Chandler, understanding his older cousin's reasoning, could not help but smile a bit in an appreciative manner.

Nodding a bit, Chandler said, "Alright, Kara. I'll trust you to have everything that you'll be needing to do your part before the Kendo tournament this Saturday." Kara gave her younger cousin a thumbs-up in response, signifying that she'll not be letting him down. The two cousins proceeded to resume doing what they had been doing prior to Kara taking a break.

* * *

The day of the Kendo tournament at the local youth center had come, and to Chandler's surprise, the supposed student of Astrid's older brother turned out to be Lincoln Loud. The red-headed boy, back before he discarded his conceitedness in favor of thinking logically and approaching things with a guile and subterfuge way of solving conflicts, used to regard the white-haired boy with contempt, as a nobody. But now?

Chandler was legitimately frightened of Lincoln. Also, Chandler now used Lincoln's actual name when referring to him, as opposed to calling him 'Larry' in an insulting manner.

Anyway, the first couple of rounds of the Kendo tournament had past, with Lincoln moving on to each successive round. Kara, although she got past a few rounds, was eliminated during the most recent round, and by Lincoln, no less. Everyone was currently relaxing a bit, as there was a bit of an intermission during rounds.

"Wow, Kara," Chandler remarked to his older cousin as the two of them were talking in private somewhere in the youth center, "I never expected Lincoln to not only turn out to be the student of Astrid's older brother, but to be in the tournament here, nor did I expect Lincoln to go up against you and take you out. Sorry about that, by the way."

"I think that Lincoln was the boy that your friends tried to spring the trap meant for Margo on a few weeks ago back at Royal Woods Middle School," Kara remarked with her hands on her hips. Giving her younger cousin a wry look, the thirteen-year-old girl continued, "You never told me that he practiced Kendo."

"I had no idea that Lincoln would be Astrid's older brother's student," Chandler defended with a shrug, "But Lincoln isn't the focus here. Anyway, did you see Francisco here?"

"Yeah, he's still in the tournament," Kara explained. With a bit of a chuckle, Kara said, "Don't worry, cous. I already secretly switched out the shinai that Francisco was using without being caught by anyone."

"Well alright," the red-headed boy said as he clapped his hands together, "Now all one of us has to do is go up to one of the people that's monitoring the Kendo matches, preferably after a match that Francisco just finished, tell the monitor person that we saw Francisco switch his bamboo sword out for another one, then we just sit back and let the show play out."

"And to think," Kara remarked to her younger cousin, "Your dad, Francisco's dad and the head guy at the sewage treatment plant are all here watching the tournament. Imagine how they'll react when our secret plan unfolds."

"This'll only have one outcome, Kara," Chandler replied, "Our family moving on up." Chandler and his older cousin both exchanged knowing smiles before sharing a fist-bump.

* * *

Things not only ended up working in the red-headed boy's favor, but did so in such a manner that maximized how bad Francisco, thus Francisco's dad as well by extension, looked; it was the final match of the Kendo tournament, and it was between Francisco and (to the amusement of Chandler) Lincoln. Francisco, who failed to notice the increased weight of his shinai, did not know that he had an advantage, an advantage that ended up allowing him to score an undeserved win again Lincoln, winning the Kendo tournament overall. As the gathered audience as a whole cheered for the thirteen-year-old boy's victory (although Chandler could have sworn he heard at least one girl shout angrily that Lincoln had lost), the red-headed boy decided to carry out his and Kara's plan.

At Chandler's prompting, Kara went over to one of the judges for the Kendo tournament and told him that she suspected Francisco was using a shinai that wasn't standard for the tournament. The judge, who was under obligation to investigate any accusations of cheating, got the shinai that Francisco had used against Lincoln, then compared it to one of the shinai that were standard for the Kendo tournament. After a few brief moments, the judge made an announcement that was music to the red-headed boy's ears.

"Attention everyone!" the judge announced, "There's been a mistake! Francisco has been disqualified, meaning that the winner is actually Lincoln!"

The audience began to murmur amongst themselves or a bit in an overall confused and mildly concerned tone. Kara, having done her part, slipped away unnoticed, then joined up with her younger cousin. Together, Chandler and Kara slipped out of the gymnasium at the youth center where the Kendo tournament was being held, no one even noticing them leaving at all.

* * *

"Well _that _certainly put a few thorns in Francisco's dad's balls," Chandler laughed as he and Kara hung out at her family's place the following day. Gesturing to Kara, the red-headed boy continued, "That plan of yours actually worked out, cous."

Kara, with a mildly amused smirk, replied, "Just be sure not to forget me when you and your folks get to enjoy the perks that comes with your dad's significantly raised stature at the sewage treatment plant once he lands that promotion." Chandler, in response, gave an amused smile and a thumbs-up.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Author's note:

This chapter focusing around Chandler, and to a lesser extent Kara, covers what they were up to during the events of the previous two chapters. There's not a lot presented here that I think most would have gleamed on their own from the aforementioned chapters, but I still figured that it was important to show here what was going on in the background while Lincoln was in the spotlight. Anyway, next time will give me a fair bit to work with, so there's that to look forward to.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter eighteen: Besting a bully

Lincoln Loud was eating his breakfast, a simple bowl of cereal (with milk, naturally), one morning in his ex-family's house in Royal Woods, Michigan. As the white-haired boy ate his breakfast, his younger sister Lola was talking to his younger ex-sisters Lana, Lucy and Lisa, while Lincoln's ex-mother Rita was feeding his baby sister Lily.

"Come on, Lisa," Lana said as she was trying to bargain with her brainy younger sister, "Lola and Lucy already agreed to go to the park! If you agree to come as well, then the four of us can play four square or something else like that!"

"I'm afraid that I have various experiments that require my attention," Lisa replied in her usual dry monotone, "One of which I intend to start up sometime later today. I don't really have the time, or desire if I'm to be completely honest, to play such games."

"Also Lana," Lucy remarked as she turned to face her tomboyish younger sister, "I feel the need to point out that I only agreed to go to the park because I was planning on writing in my journal while sitting under one of the trees at the park. It's a rather pleasant day today, and I could do with getting some fresh air."

"There's also the fact that our mother will most likely be unwilling to let us go to the park at all," Lisa added, "Unless one of our older sibling units can be persuaded to come along in order to keep an eye on the four of us."

Rita, having heard the conversation going on between her children, looked up from feeding Lily. "Your little sister has a point, Lana," the Loud matriarch pointed out in a mildly firm tone, "However, you girls can go to the park if you manage to get one of your older siblings to go along as well to keep an eye on the four of you."

The tomboyish loud twin nodded once in understanding to her mother before turning her attention to look at Lincoln. "Hey Lincoln," Lana began, a bit of hopefulness in her tone, "Can you come with me, Lola, Lucy and Lisa to the park today?"

"I'm sorry, Lana," the white-haired boy said in an apologetic tone, "But my friend Rusty asked me and our other friends to come by and help him with something." The excuse that Lincoln had given Lana is partly true; Rusty really did call a for a meeting between himself, Lincoln, Clyde, Liam and Zach, as the older Spokes brother needed help with a venture of some sort.

However, the excuse was only part of why Lincoln was unable to help; the other part being that, with the exception of Lola and Lily, Lincoln was still upset with all of the younger half of the Loud girls. As it currently stands, the white-haired boy would rather not have to be forced, for any reason, to stay in the company of Lana, Lisa and/or Lucy, if he could help it.

Looking down into her lap, Lana said in a disappointed pout, "Aww." As the tomboyish Loud twin sulked, Leni came walking into the dining room area. Right before she reached the doorway leading into the kitchen, Leni noticed that one of her younger sisters was sulking.

"Hey Lana, are you, like, okay?" Leni asked in a concerned tone.

"Me, Lola, Lucy and Lisa can't go to the park because mom says we need an older sibling to go along to watch us," Lana explained in a disappointed tone.

"Hey, I have time today," Leni said, "I can, like, totes go along with all of you!"

Instantly, seemingly as if Christmas had arrived early, Lana perked right back up. "Really?!" Lana said excitedly, the excitement in her tone clear.

"Well if mom is okay with it, then I don't see why not," Leni replied in her usual chirpy tone.

Rita, upon hearing her fashionable daughter volunteer to go with the youngest of the Loud girls to the park was at first a bit hesitant; Rita had nothing against her second-oldest, but Leni _did_ have a history of letting her attention wander. Still, Leni was available and willing, and the youngest of the Loud girls, Lana in particular, were eager to go to the park. …Well, Lana, Lola and Lucy were eager to go to the park; Lisa wanted to stay home, although the Loud matriarch felt that her second-youngest could do with some fresh air.

"Well…alright, Leni," Rita said after relenting a bit, "But remember that you have to keep an eye on Lucy, the twins and Lisa, okay?"

Upon hearing Rita say her name among the girls who wanted to go to the park, Lisa began to object. "Uhh, mother," Lisa remarked, "I said that I had no desire to go to the park, remember? Lucy, Lola and Lana can go to the park without me."

"Lisa, sweetie, you could do with some time outside," Rita countered, her firm but gently and motherly tone making it clear that Lisa was going to go to the park with the other sisters that wanted to go, whether she (Lisa) personally wanted to go or not. Seeing that she was not going to be getting out of this one, the brainy Loud sister sighed in a resigned tone before draining the last of her cup of milk.

"Very well, mother," Lisa replied, "I'll just need to go throw on a clean shirt first."

"Ooh, that reminds me," Lola began, her memory sparked by what her younger sister had just said, "I need to go put on a clean dress! It simply wouldn't do if I went to the park in a dirty dress." As Lana proceeded to taunt Lola over her obsessive need to be presentable at all times which resulted in Lola getting into an argument with her twin sister, Lincoln chuckled to himself a bit in an amused manner; this was just the twins being themselves, as per usual.

Mornings like these were one of the things that the white-haired boy missed while he lived as a runaway in Great Lakes City.

* * *

Later that morning over at the park, the twins and Lisa were playing around on the playground while Lucy sat in the shade under a tree as she wrote in her journal. "Hey girls," Lisa began in a mildly apprehensive tone, getting the twins' attention in the process, "I…I don't suppose that either of you knows how our older brother unit is doing as of late, do you?"

"Well Lincoln did win that sword fighting tournament recently," Lola pointed out, "And he does seem like his mood's a lot better than it was when he first came back home."

"Good, good," Lisa said, "That's good to hear." As the three younger Loud sisters continued to play around, they heard some of the other young kids on the playground scream and otherwise make noise that clearly conveyed feelings of fright. This confused Lisa and the twins, as well as alarm them to a degree, until Lola and Lana spotted a specific someone stalking around on the playground as if he owned the place.

"Oh no," Lola said in a hushed whisper of fear, "It's Biff Bizowski! What's he doing here?" Lola and her twin watched apprehensively as they saw the third-grade bully go about the park, coming across an area where two kids were playing; before he even got close, the two kids saw him coming up and promptly ran away before the frightening bully had even gotten close to them. Lola turned to face her sisters that were playing with her. "Girls, the three of us need to go right over to where Leni is and stay right next to her until Biff leaves," Lola said to Lana and Lisa in a serious tone, "There's no way that meanie will bother us if we're close to a high schooler."

"What about Lucy?" Lana asked her twin in a mildly frightened tone, "She's somewhere in the park under a tree! She has no idea that Biff just entered the park!"

The pageant-winning Loud sister's eyes immediately widened out of shocked realization. "Oh geez, you're right, Lana!" Lola said in a worried tone, "Biff might find her for all we know!"

Lisa, for her part, could not see why her older sisters were panicking, and as such sighed in a bit of exasperation. "Lola, Lana, the two of you are both overreacting," Lisa remarked, her usual dry monotone sounding relaxed and casual, "There's no way that Biff fellow will be bother anyone here at the park. Not with so many-"

"Hey!" Lisa and the twins heard Biff's voice shout from somewhere in the park, cutting Lisa off in the process. Looking over, the girls saw to their extreme worry (mild in Lisa's case) that Biff was staring down at Lucy as she sat under a tree, towering over the gothic Loud girl. "What do you think you're doing, sitting under my tree?!" Biff snapped as he pointed an accusing finger at the gothic Loud sister, "The hell do you think you are, huh?!"

"…Yeah, allow me, my sibling units," Lisa said in an unamused tone as she got up and went over to where Biff was harassing Lucy. Despite how frightened they both were, both Lola and Lana got up and went after their brainy younger sister. Within short order, Lisa and the twins arrived where Biff was bothering Lucy.

The brainy Loud sister, upon getting close enough, cleared her throat to get Biff's attention, making him turn to see who it was. "Excuse me," Lisa began in a relaxed, casual manner, "But I cannot help but notice that you seem to have taken umbrage with one of my older sisters."

"And what the hell do you intend to do about it, you little snot?" Biff demanded as he looked down at Lisa, cracking his knuckles as he glared at the genius four-year-old.

"Oh geez, he's cracking his knuckles," Lola said in a hushed, worried tone to Lana, who could only nod in agreement.

"If you do indeed have a legitimate problem with my older sister Lucy," Lisa began to say, "Then why not inform your parents about it so that they can talk to out parents about it, and then we can hopefully reach an agreeable compromise? There is certainly no need to let our emotions get the best of us and lead us to do things that we'll end up regretting."

Giving the brainy Loud sister a look that was a generous mix of confused and angry, Biff said in a sneering tone, "Do you think that you're smarter than me, twerp?"

"…Well," Lisa began, "Seeing as how I don't act threateningly towards girls half my age and a third my size, I have at least one point above you that-" The brainy Loud sister found herself cut off midsentence when Biff punched her on the left side of her face, sending her tumbling back a bit and her glasses flying. The glasses landed on the ground near Biff's feet. Seeing them, Biff walked over and stomped down on Lisa's glasses, crushing them without mercy.

Her fear of Biff temporarily forgotten upon seeing what the third-grade bully had just done to her younger sister, Lola snapped at Biff, "Hey, what do you think you're doing to my little sister, you big meanie?!"

"The same that I'll do to you if you don't zip your lip and show me the respect that you ought to show me, you little brat!" Biff growled angrily as he shook a fist at the pageant winning Loud sibling, making her and Lana back off out of sheer fright. Satisfied that he had clearly reminded the smaller kids that he was their superior, Biff turned back around to face Lisa, who was slowly picking herself back up off of the ground.

"…I believe I can also add 'beating up much smaller girls' to the list I was talking about before you so rudely cut me off," Lisa said dryly, glaring at the third-grade bully as well as she could, given that her glasses were now broken. "Seriously. Do you know how much trouble that you'll get into for-" Lisa was cut off again when Biff punched the left side of her face again, making her fall over onto her back. While Lisa was prone, Biff jumped onto her and started to punch her repeatedly. It was a terrifying display that had the twins and Lucy too afraid to even move.

Growling in self-assured superiority, Biff snapped, "Alright, you little turd, I've had it up to hear with your backtalk." Raising up a fist for one final punch, Biff said, "You got any last words before I rearrange your face?!"

Lisa looked up at Biff with a cool yet neutral glare, ever defying the bully and denying him as much satisfaction from him beating her up as she could. "…The Aristocrats," the brainy Loud sister remarked in her usual dry monotone.

"…" Regarding the brainy Loud sibling with a confused look, Biff said as his expression resumed showing anger, "I have no idea what the hell you're even talk-"

"Hey!" Leni's voice called out, prompting everyone to turn their attention, seeing a clearly angry Leni come running right over to them. "What do you think you're doing to my little sisters?!" the fashionable Loud sister scolded as she made her way over.

"Aww crap," Biff muttered to himself as he got up and proceeded to run away. By the time that Leni had reached her younger sisters, the third-grade bully already had enough of a head start in getting away. Leni wanted to go after the little bully and give him a talking to for being mean to her little sisters, but her little sisters themselves were right there with her, and the four of them were all frightened. …Well, Lucy and the twins were clearly frightened. Lisa, ever the stoic girl, didn't even look shaken by the beating she had received.

"Lisa!" Leni said in a concerned tone as she knelt over to help her brainy little sister up, "Are you, like, going to be okay?"

Dusting herself off a bit, Lisa replied, "There is no need for any alarm. Other than the fact that a low-brained Neanderthal thought it would be a good idea to use me as a punching bag, nothing serious had taken place."

"I don't think that we can come to this park anymore," Lana said in a worried and frightened tone, "There's no telling when Biff will come back to assert his dominance again."

"…You're seriously going to let some cowardly brute like that Biff fellow terrorize not just you, but everyone else here at the park?" Lisa asked as she regarded Lana, surprised by what the tomboyish Loud twin was saying, "Lana, you beat up three fifth-graders on your own a few weeks ago. I'm surprised that you of all people would be afraid of just one lone bully who, need I point out, is younger than the three aforementioned fifth graders."

"Those three fifth graders were nothing," Lana explained to her genius younger sister with a dismissive wave of her hand, "This is Biff Bizowski that we're talking about here! I mean, just look at the number that he did to you, Lisa!"

Wiping away a bit of blood that was oozing out from her nose, Lisa remarked, "…I've been on the receiving end of Lynn letting the rush of winning some big game get the better of her. I think that I'll recover."

"Girls," Leni began as she spoke to her younger sisters in an apologetic tone, "I'm, like, totes sorry, but I'm going to have to take you all home right now." Luckily for the ditzy sixteen-year-old, the twins and Lucy were all too happy to leave the park as soon as they could. Lisa also wanted to go home, although that was because she had some experiments to work on; she never even wanted to come to the park in the first place.

She wouldn't have been pounded by a Neanderthal if she had stayed home like she wanted to.

* * *

When the Loud sisters that had gone to the park made their way back to their family's home, the first thing that caught Rita's attention was the sorry state that her second-youngest daughter was in. "WHAT HAPPENED TO LISA?!" Rita exclaimed as she ran right over to her daughters and immediately began fretting over Lisa. Rita noticed the various bruises on her second-youngest's face, the slightly bleeding nose (that also had a bit of bruising), and the fact that the frame of Lisa's glasses was broken into a few pieces; the lenses of the glasses couldn't have been saved, unfortunately enough.

Lisa, calmly and without any hint of being upset over what had happened to her, began explain to Rita, "Some brute from the playground thought that it would be a good idea to use me as a punching bag. Also mother, I believe that I shall be needing my back-up pair of glasses."

"Hey, I have an idea," Lola began, getting her sisters that were present (other than Lisa, who Rita was still fretting over) to turn their attention to her, "We should get Lincoln to beat Biff up!"

"Hey, yeah!" Lana remarked, sounding like she found her twin sister's idea to be very much agreeable, "I bet that Lincoln can totally beat up Biff!"

"Also, Aggro has been totes training Linky in sword fighting," Leni said, "Linky can take that wooden sword that Aggro gave him and-"

Before Leni, or any of the Loud girls for that matter, could go on, Rita interjected, cutting her second-oldest off in the process. "Girls," Rita began in a stern tone, "You are _not_ going to have your brother beat up a playground bully."

"Our mother unit has a point," Lisa pointed out, "All we have to do is let responsible adults deal with that Biff fellow."

"Yeah, Lisa," Lana remarked in a knowing tone, "Like doing _that_ will work. Biff will just keep to himself until the heat dies down, then he'll be back to business as usual." Looking down to the ground, Lana said, "Let's just face it. Kids like Biff won't ever stop for real. If he's stopped in one area, he'll just pick up and resume his ways somewhere else. It's pointless."

"Now Lana, there's no need to get like that," Rita said in a gentle and reassuring tone, "I'll have a talk with this Biff kid's parents about what their son has been doing, then we'll work from there." After that, the Loud matriarch left her daughters where they were at as she went to go get Lisa's back-up glasses. After Rita had left, Lisa turned to face her older siblings.

"When mother returns with my back-up pair of glasses, I'm going to be heading straight up to my room," Lisa stated, "I've got some work to do."

"Yeah, I think that we should have left you here in the first place, Lisa," Lola said to her younger sister in an apologetic tone, "Sorry that you got dragged into having to deal with Biff."

Without any resentment towards her older sisters, Lisa merely held up a hand in a gesture to cut off further argument. "It is a non-factor, Lola," the brainy Loud sister remarked, "Like I had said, I'll recover."

* * *

Later that night, after everyone else in the Loud family had finally gone to sleep, Lisa was still up, sitting at her worktable while her baby sister Lily snoozed away in her crib, blissfully unaware of what her brainy older sister was up to. Lisa checked some handwritten notes of hers before taking a vial containing some sort of purple liquid and pouring it into a beaker that contained some sort of blue liquid. When a small wisp of red smoke came out of the beaker as a result, Lisa smiled.

"…Yes," the genius four-year-old said to herself, quietly so as to not wake up the sleeping Lily, "That will do nicely."

Lisa then poured the contents of the beaker that she was holding into a tray of some sort, then she carefully took that tray and put it into one of her various science machines. After she had done that, Lisa changed into her sleep outfit and went to bed, given that she had nothing else to do at the moment. Later, when Lisa woke up in the morning, she went to the machine that she put the tray into, opened it, and took the tray back out. Poking the now jellied form of the liquid that she had poured into the tray before having gone to bed, Lisa smiled once again.

"…Yes," Lisa said quietly to herself one again, a (mildly devilish) look of amusement on her face, "That will do nicely."

* * *

Over at the local park later in the morning, Lisa was sitting in the sandbox with Lola and Lana, both of which looked like they felt as if the boogeyman was going to jump out at them at any given moment. Lucy was sitting under a different tree than the one from the previous day. Once again, Leni was the older sibling that went to the park in order to keep an eye on the youngest Loud siblings.

"Lisa, I'm surprised that you actually _wanted_ to come to the park again," Lana remarked, "Not only did you not want to come to the park yesterday, but when you did come to the park, Biff totally throttled you! You have got to be the bravest out of all eleven of us, because I'm pretty sure that you aren't the dumbest out of all eleven of us."

Lisa, with a hint of amusement in her otherwise dry tone, casually replied, "Thank you for the vote of confidence in my intelligence, Lana. And while we're on the subject, I just want to say that you trust me when I say that after today, there should be no-"

"What the hell are you doing back here, you creepy little snot?!" Lisa and the twins heard Biff's voice shout from somewhere in the park, cutting Lisa off midsentence. Looking over, Lisa and the twins saw Biff standing in an intimidating manner as he loomed over Lucy, who was still sitting on the ground. Casually getting up, Lisa removed a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag of what looked like jellied candies from her right pants pocket before she began to make her way over to where Biff was threatening Lucy.

"Lisa, wait!" Lola said in a worried tone, "Biff will take your candy if you walk up to him while holding it! Also, where did you get that candy from?"

Having made her way over to where Biff was once again trying to torment Lucy, Lisa said, "Hey, you leave my big sister alone!" Turning around, Biff spotted Lisa standing there, and gave a smug sneer to the four-year-old girl.

"I see that you got another pair of those nerdy glasses," Biff sneered as he taunted the brainy Loud sister, "And why should I leave your creep of a big sister alone? She's a creep, and as such she has what I'm going to do to her coming!"

"She doesn't deserve to have anything bad happen to her," Lisa said, sounding as if she were a frightened little girl (that 'frightened little girl' bit is only about half right), "Lucy is the nicest big sister in the world!" Holding up the bag of jellied candies she had, Lisa said, "Lucy was even nice enough to make this candy for me!" Before either Lisa or Lucy could act, Biff snatched the bag of candies from the brainy Loud sibling.

"Well it's my candy now, you little twerp!" Biff gloated as he took a piece of the candy from the bag and ate it. After chewing the piece of candy, contemplating its flavor and then swallowing, Biff said, "…Meh, I've had better candy than this." Pointing in a demanding manner towards Lisa, Biff said, "You better bring me some better candy tomorrow or else I will-" Biff stopped short as he dropped the candy bag he stole from Lisa so he could hold his arms over his stomach, which was making some sort of growling noises that were _not_ the sounds of hunger.

"Ow, my stomach," the third-grade bully said, sounding as if he wasn't feeling all that well, "Something's wrong with my-" Biff stopped short as a panicked expression appeared across his face. Suddenly, a certain loud and disgusting toilet-related sound came from the third-grade bully, making him go wide-eyed with shock and worry.

As swift as a coursing river and with all the force of a great typhoon, Biff had defecated in his shorts, the liquid number two trailing down out of his shorts down the back of both of his legs. "…Oh no…" Biff said, his tone clearly conveying embarrassment as kids from around the park began to gather to see what had happened, and out of wonder about just what that smell was.

"Hey, look!" one random boy (he was around the twins' age) at the park shouted as he pointed at the third-grade bully, "Biff Bizowski just pooped himself!"

"Eww! That's super gross!" a random girl exclaimed as she and a number of other kids at the park began to point and laugh at the humiliated Biff, who proceeded to turn around and run away, crying out of embarrassment. After the humiliated bully was gone and the gathered kids began to disperse, Lucy got up and, while carefully avoiding the area where Biff had just soiled himself, walked over to her younger siblings.

Giving her brainy younger sister a curious look, Lucy said, "I never made you any candy, Lisa."

"I know," Lisa replied casually, "That was just a lie on my part. It was part of a gambit that I had pulled off in my plan in order to teach that oafish Neanderthal some much-needed humility."

"So, wait a minute there," Lana said with a confused look on her face, "Your plan was to trick Biff into eating candy that made him poop himself really, really bad?" With an amused chuckle, Lana said, "Wow Lisa. That was actually pretty funny."

Lola, with a disgusted look on her face, remarked, "It was pretty gross."

"What are you going to do with the rest of that candy?" Lucy began as she pointed to where the bag of candies laid. To any amount of luck, the bag of candies had landed a good foot or so away from Biff's accident. With a mildly apprehensive hint in her tone, the Gothic Loud sister said, "I mean, if anyone else were to-"

"I'm going to be keeping the rest of it," Lisa stated as she went over to retrieve the rest of the candies, "I'm still working on the laxative candy, and it would never do if I left a prototype out where it could potentially cause trouble."

"Well alright," Lana said as she pumped a fist into the air, "Biff's been humiliated, so now he's not going to want to show his face around the park anytime soon!"

Taking out a vial that was closed off with a cork, along with a thin wooden tongue depressor that could fit in the vial, Lisa said as she approached where Biff had his accident, "Yes, yes. Anyway, I need to gather a sample, as I need to study the effects of someone having eaten a piece of the laxative candy as it currently is right now."

"EWWWWW!" Lola exclaimed in disgust.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Author's note:

~He should not have eaten that candy, and you'd think he'd get a clue, but it's good…Biff did not have…too much poo~

…In all seriousness, due to the nature of this redone story, a number of things that originally happened, such as Lincoln confronting Biff at the elementary school, do not take place here (a number of things that did not originally happen do happen here, but that's not the point I'm trying to make). Even so, I was able to resolve this chapter's plot well enough. But enough of that. Anyway, the next chapter will be seeing more progress in Lincoln trying to reconcile with the members of the Loud family that he is still upset with. Heh, I bet that none of you will be able to predict what is going to be taking place.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter nineteen: …Wow, those guys were mean

Lori, Leni and Luna, the three oldest Loud sisters, decided that they needed to discuss something amongst themselves, without any of their younger sisters coming along for the ride. Thus, the three of them found themselves getting lunch with each other at the food court at Royal Woods Mall. Lori got some sort of salad, Luna got something from the burger place, and Leni got what appeared to be some manner of Japanese dish from the 'Japanese' restaurant in the food court.

"Bleh," the fashionable Loud sister remarked after trying a bite of her lunch, "This stuff is, like, totes bland compared to what Aggro's family serves at their restaurant."

Holding up a hand to cut Leni off from saying anything else, Lori remarked, "We can discuss matters like that later. For now, we literally have more important things to go over."

"Like how the three of us are still being left out in the dark by our little bro?" Luna asked as she turned her attention from her lunch to Lori. With a sigh, the musically inclined Loud sister said, "Although it's not like we don't have it coming, considering not only what happened to Link, but the fact that the three of us all had a role in it."

"You're right on both counts, Luna," Lori remarked, "Both on how the three of us have been disavowed by Lincoln, and that we have it coming." Giving both of her sisters that were with her a serious look, one that had just a mix of worry mixed in, the oldest Loud sister asked, "Do either of you know who Lincoln has forgiven yet?"

Counting off of her fingers, Luna said, "So far, our bro has accepted Lily, Luan, Lola and Lynn as his family again. The rest of us girls, as well as both of our 'rents, are still unpersons as far as Lincoln is concerned."

Sighing in a mildly resigned tone, Lori remarked, "Well, that's to be expected, I suppose. Out of the twelve of us who drove our own brother to run away from home because we were literally full of ourselves, Lincoln has only reconciled with four." Taking a sip of her drink, the oldest Loud sister continued, "And I'm not entirely sure if we can count Lily. Given that she's a baby, reconciling with her is something of an automatic response."

"So Lori," Leni began, "Why are the three of us, like, here again? I mean, don't get me wrong, because the mall is totes awesome to go to." With a hint of confusion entering her expression, Leni continued, "It's just that you only wanted me and Luna to come with you, and we're going over how Linky still hates the three of us for our part in what happened to him."

"That last part you said," Lori began to explain to Leni, "About how Lincoln is still upset with the three of us, is why I wanted to talk to just you and Luna." To both of her sisters, Lori said, "We need to figure out what we can do to convince Lincoln that we aren't unrepentant monsters, that we deserve a second chance from him."

Both Luna and Leni exchanged looks with each other; both of them understood what their older sister was getting at. Likewise, they both shared that desire that Lori had, that being to be accepted by their white-haired younger brother again. But the progress that the Loud family as a whole has been making has been slow at best; only four of the twelve immediate members of the family have been able to reconcile with Lincoln, and, just as Lori pointed out, one of them was something of an automatic deal.

Looking from one of her older sisters to the other, Luna said after a few moments of thinking about something, "Well girls, if it helps, I got an-" The musically inclined Loud sister was cut off midsentence when a bit of music that sounded like it was set as a ring tone went off; the music was clearly the kind of rock music that the musically inclined Loud sister loves jamming out to. "That's the song I set to play from my phone when Sam's calling me," Luna explained as she answered the call.

Lori and Leni both exchanged looks with each other as their younger sister talked on the phone with her girlfriend. After about a minute or so, Lori and Leni both jumped in their respective seats a bit when Luna exclaimed in her practiced British accent, "Are you bleed'in kidding me, mate?! Those blokes seriously did that?!" Calming down just a bit, Luna said in her regular tone, "I'm coming over right now, Sam. I'll be seeing you in a bit." Luna then promptly ended the call before turning her attention to Lori, giving her a serious look.

"I'm…assuming that you're going to want me to give you a ride to Sam's place?" Lori asked, knowing what her younger sister was going to say before said younger sister had even officially replied. After Luna said what the oldest Loud sister was expecting (albeit with a little bit more vulgarity than what was expected), Lori nodded in understanding before telling both Luna and Leni to gather their things, as they were going to be leaving the mall.

"Aww, we're leaving already?" Leni said in a tone of complain, "But I-" Leni was cut off when she heard a bit of a growl. Turning to face the direction said growl had come from, Leni came face-to-face with Luna, whose fuming, annoyed expression would be hearing no argument. Even someone who is slow on the uptake like Leni knew when to read the room. Not wanting to upset Luna any further if it could be helped, the fashionable Loud sister wisely decided to stop it with the complaining.

* * *

When Vanzilla pulled up in the driveway of the Sharp residence, the three oldest Loud sisters ran right up to the front door. It was Luna who pounded repeatedly on the front door, and she did not cease her pounding until the door opened from the inside. To the surprise of Lori, Leni and Luna, the door was answered by Amy Ace, the fifteen-year-old younger sister of Lori's friend Allison. Amy was carrying what appeared to be a red-colored semi-transparent first aid kit.

"About time you got here, Luna," Amy remarked, "You and your family ought to consider yourselves lucky, given that your younger brother does not need to go to the hospital."

"Wait, what?!" the three Loud sisters all exclaimed in unison, making Amy wince back slightly out of surprise and mild shock.

Collecting herself, Amy said, "…Yeah. Long story short, some guys from another high school that rivals Royal Woods High decided to come here to bother slash harass Sam, given that their band is rivals with the one that you and Sam belong to. Anyway, Sam's brother Simon and your brother Lincoln confronted them. Counting myself since I was here at the time and Sam since this is where her family lives, it was three of them versus four of us. We managed to drive them off, but Simon took a hit to his face that busted his nose badly enough that a trip to Royal Woods General was warranted."

"What about Linky?" Leni practically demanded.

"Linky?" Amy repeated in a confused tone to the fashionable Loud sister. After a moment, Amy said in a tone of realization, "Ah, that's the nickname that Aggro told me you gave to Lincoln." Jerking a thumb over her shoulder to point into the Sharp residence, Amy explained, "Sam is in the living room, keeping an eye on Lincoln. He took a right hook to his left eye, and there's some serious bruising. But other than that he's fine."

Without even being given time to mount any argument, Amy was practically shoved aside by the three oldest Loud sisters, who practically proceeded to storm the Sharp residence. Upon entering the living room area, Lori, Leni and Luna saw Sam sitting on the sofa with Lincoln; just as Amy had said, there was some serious bruising over his left eye. But the white-haired boy did not look to be too bothered by it. In fact, Lincoln sat on the sofa with a firm yet casual expression, his arms folded over his chest as he laid against the back of the sofa. The air that Lincoln was giving off was like that of a stoic warrior who was sitting without any worries as someone was tending to his wounds.

"Oh, there you are, Lunes," Sam said when the Loud sisters appeared in the living room. Looking over in the direction that his musically inclined ex-sister's girlfriend was looking, the white-haired boy saw said ex-sister, as well as the other two older ex-sisters.

"…This is nothing for you three to be worried about," Lincoln said in an emotionless monotone as he pointed to the bruising over the area of his left eye. The way that the Loud sisters' younger brother spoke to them reminded the three of them of how Lucy would normally speak. Hearing their younger brother say that his injury was nothing to be concerned about only made Lori, Leni and Luna more concerned.

"Are you kidding us?!" Lori practically demanded, "You literally got punched in the eye hard enough to have bruising!"

Looking away from his older ex-sisters and towards the TV that was in the living room, Lincoln said in the same emotionless monotone, "I've had harder experiences." Casting a brief glance back to his older ex-sisters without even turning his head, the white-haired boy added with a hint of knowingness in his tone, "I believe you may know what I'm talking about."

"I have to say, Lunes," Sam began, a hint of mild amazement in her tone, as she got up and walked over to Luna and the other Loud sisters. Gesturing back to where she left Lincoln on the sofa, Sam continued, "That little brother of yours is one tough customer. He took a punch to the eye from a dude the same size as that Santiago dude that your older sister here is dating, and yet he has not yet once cried out of pain." Shaking her head gently out of a mild sense of disbelief, Sam said, "How did he get so tough?"

Luna, along with Lori and Leni, had uncomfortable looks on their faces. "It's…" Luna said while trying to be careful in her choice of words, "…Something of a family matter, Sam."

* * *

Sometime later that afternoon, the three oldest Loud sisters and Lincoln returned home. Lori obtained a general description of the three guys from the rival band from Sam, and then she gave said descriptions to her Boo-Boo Bear, Bobby Santiago. To Lori's surprise, when Bobby, who took his friend Aggro Ace along, tracked down the three guys, he (Bobby) called it in to the local police, who came by and arrested the three boys from the rival high school; Lori was hoping that her Boo-Boo Bear would grind those three boys into a viscous red paste for daring to bring harm to her little brother.

"…You do realize that Bobby isn't that violent a person, right?" Lynn said as she and the other Loud sisters all met with Lori, Leni and Luna in the bedroom that the first two shared for a standard sister meeting. With a shrug and casual look on her face, the athletic Loud sister said, "Sure, I would have no issue with going that far. But Bobby? No way he would break noses and punch out teeth."

"I have to agree with our sister here," Lisa stated as she turned her attention to Lori, "Only our sole male sibling unit is less capable of violence than Roberto."

The remainder of the sisters all nodded in agreement with what Lisa had said; sure, Lincoln _has_ as of late shown a harsher side to people who have messed with the girls, but that was because those people had messed with _the girls_. If it wasn't for that, then Lincoln would left well enough alone. Given Lincoln's history, his sisters just couldn't see it in him to do anything to anyone along the likes of knocking out teeth or breaking noses, or giving severe bruises, unless he was provoked into doing so.

When Lana brought up how Lincoln was so nice a person that it would be impossible for him to even kill another human being, the sisters found the notion of their brother being a killer to be especially laughable. Only Lori, who not only knew about some of the dreams that Lincoln has been having as of late but knew that she was involved in one of them, did not laugh out loud.

Letting out a sigh, Lori said, "Well that was an interesting talk. But I think that the lot of us literally need to get going to bed." At that cue, the Loud sisters proceeded to make their way out of Lori and Leni's room; Lori, upon seeing that Leni get up as well with the look of leaving the room, was going to tell her that she slept in the room herself, but then she saw that she was going over to pick Lily up and carry her to the bedroom that Lily and Lisa shared.

…

That night, as the Loud family slept, Luna was tossing and turning on her bunk in her and Luan's room. The musically inclined Loud sister was kept up by thoughts of worry concerning her younger brother. Partly because he had received a notable injury earlier in the day, but also due to how he still resented her for the part that she had played during the incident that had driven him to run away from home.

As far as the musically inclined Loud sister was concerned, she had it coming. An argument could have been made that, out of all of the ten sisters, Luna was the one who was the closest to Lincoln. …Keep in mind that past-tense phrases such as 'could have been' and 'was', as opposed to present-tense variations such as 'could be' and 'is', are being used here.

Because of what had happened, because Luna had played a part in it all, she was nothing to Lincoln. Even Lynn, the one who started it all by threatening Lincoln into going to that fateful softball game, as well as one of the sisters who Lincoln had to throw under the bus when he was questioned by the Santiago siblings so as to make as little of a mess as possible, had been able to reconcile with the white-haired boy.

Bloody hell.

Luna knew the story; hoping to keep Lori's involvement in the incident from Bobby due to believing he might have broken up with her over it, Lincoln came up with the lie that only Luan, Lynn, Lola and Lisa were the guilty parties, and that everyone else had been tricked. Lincoln had explained that, when he was questioned by Bobby and Ronnie Anne over in Great Lakes City, the four aforementioned sisters were the one that came to mind for him.

Given how Lisa has been known to cause havoc with her experimenting, how Lola has terrorized the other Loud siblings with her despotic nature, how Luan has practically tortured the whole family every April first, and _especially_ all of the roughhousing Lynn had thrown in Lincoln's direction over the years, it made sense that those four came to mind for Lincoln to throw under the bus in his bid to try and preserve Lori's relationship with Bobby. Luna questioned _why_ her little brother would go that far, given that Lori's arguably one of the harshest sisters towards the white-haired boy.

Maybe he liked Bobby as an older brother figure that much, and that if Bobby broke up with Lori then Lincoln would be out a positive male role model? Not to mention that if Bobby and Lori did break up, then things would be rather awkward between Lincoln and Ronnie Anne. Luna, as well as the other Loud sisters, knew that their brother was rather sweet on the Hispanic tomboy, and she (Ronnie Anne) was sweet on him in return.

Yeah, Luna determined, that had to be the reason why Lincoln didn't want the relationship between Lori and Bobby to go down. After she had reached that agreement with herself, Luna leaned over the side of her bunk to look down at Luan, who slept on the bunk below her. Like Lynn, Luan was also one of the girls that was thrown under the bus. And yet Luan, just like Lynn, had been able to reconcile with Lincoln.

Was the musically inclined Loud sister missing something here? Did the white-haired boy seriously forget every last thing that Luan had done to him? Every prank, every last humiliation? Luna couldn't believe that Lincoln had forgiven the clown before herself! …But it was then that Luna remembered that the way she had treated her little brother over the years did not have an entirely spotless record. There was the time where Luna's fog equipment (for special effects during her concerts) had damaged Luan's dummy Mr. Coconuts, and when Lincoln told Luna to cover the costs of repairs for Luan, Luna threatened him by shaking a fist in his face.

There was also the time when she had strong-armed him into going to that dance with Tabby, the time that she had nearly ruined his first concert experience, the way she treated him when he admitted to being guilty of having clogged the toilet with the Princess Pony book (now that she thought about it, Luna couldn't realistically see Lincoln actually owning any of that garbage), the way she had brutally thrown him out of her and Luan's room during the mad search for money, and the way she had fought him for the right to sit in the sweet spot. The more that Luna thought about it, the more she realized that she had done a lot to break Lincoln's trust, his faith, in her.

Bloody hell.

Laying back down on her bunk, Luna hoped that by this point in the night, she would be able to clock out by sheer virtue of being too tired to remain awake. That hope of Luna's was answered, as she soon found herself beginning to fall asleep. Even so, due to how she was feeling troubled, the last thought that Luna had while she was still conscious was how she had been, without even realizing it, a complete and total bastard to her younger slash only brother.

* * *

The following day, Luna was on her way over to Sam's place again. Normally, Luna, Sam and the rest of their band would use this day in the week to jam out. But the other three members of the band were all out, each of them needing to take care of various obligations. As such, it would just be the two girls, discussing whether or not to try and induct a sixth member into their band, a topic that Sam had brought up, saying that she had seen someone with great potential. Luna had no idea who her girlfriend had in mind, but if this person was as good as Sam said, then who was Luna to complain?

When Luna, who was carrying her electric guitar in its case, turned the corner and came onto the same street where the Sharp residence was located, she saw to her surprise and alarm that Sam and Lincoln (what was Lincoln doing here?!) were fighting two high school guys in the Sharp residence's front yard; judging by the guys' appearances, they looked like they associated with the three guys who were here yesterday, if the descriptions Sam provided to Lori were accurate.

Without even thinking, Luna immediately ran up to the scene, not even taking note of how Lincoln was surprisingly able to hold his own, skillfully dodging punch after punch. When she had gotten close enough, Luna lifted her guitar case up high enough and, with the end that held the head of the guitar aimed at the high schooler Lincoln was fighting, swung her guitar case at the high schooler's head, hitting him with enough force to send him tumbling into his fellow that was fighting Sam, thus giving Sam time to recover.

"Lunes!" Sam exclaimed in surprise when she saw who it was that assaulted the one high schooler, "Boy, am I glad that you came here!"

"About time I got here too, given what was going on," the musically inclined Loud sister replied. Turning to Lincoln, Luna asked, "What are you doing here, Lincoln?"

Looking up at Luna, Lincoln explained, "I came here because I wanted to ask how Simon was doing. He did have to go to the hospital yesterday for an injury."

"Heh," Luna remarked, "You're too good a kid to people sometimes, Lincoln." Looking over to where the two high schoolers had fallen over each other, Luna, Lincoln and Sam saw that they had picked themselves up and were proceeding to try and flee. Luna began to give chase, but she stopped short when the end of a beautifully detailed staff slammed onto the head of the first high schooler, while a fist collided into the face of the other.

"Have at thee, foul brutes!" the familiar voice of Allison Ace bellowed. Looking over to where the two high schoolers were stopped, Luna, Lincoln and Sam saw Allison, who was holding up a fist that was slightly bloodied, and Amy standing over the two high schoolers. "My sister and I did see how you two tried to attack those we have named as friends," the female Ace twin said, "And we shall not be standing for your offence!"

"Amy! Allison!" Sam said as she, Luna and Lincoln ran over to the Ace sisters, who were proceeding to subdue the high schoolers, "Thanks for catching these guys!"

Looking up at Sam for a bit, Amy replied before returning her attention to the high schooler she was trying to subdue, "It's no big deal, Sam." After she had finished, Amy stood back up and regarded both Sam and Luna. "Now Sam," the fifteen-year-old Ace girl began, "What's all this about you wanting me to join your band?"

"Wait a minute," Luna interrupted. Turning to face her girlfriend, Luna said, "The person that you want to try to get to join our band is Amy?"

"When I had Amy try playing a few notes on my guitar at school back on Friday," Sam began to explain, "She was a bit of a natural. I was not expecting her to do so well." Pointing to Amy while still facing Luna, Sam said, "We need to have her practice properly, but I have confidence that Amy will prove herself to be a valuable asset to the band."

Luna, as well as Amy and even Allison (who finished subduing the high schooler she was handling) and Lincoln, could not help but find amusement in Sam wanting to try and recruit Amy into the band. After the high schoolers had been turned over to the local police, the teenage girls and Lincoln made their way back to the Sharp residence, where Sam tried to sell the idea to Amy that her joining the band would be a good idea.

* * *

After fun times at the Sharp residence, Luna and Lincoln proceeded to make their way back home. During said walk, Luna began to explain to Lincoln how she felt like a dunderhead over her part in driving him to run away, as well as all of the crap that she had done to him over the years. "…At least you're acknowledging the mistakes that you've made," Lincoln remarked after Luna had finished recounting everything she had done, and how she felt low about all of it. Giving a single nod, the white-haired boy said, "People have said that acknowledging that you have messed up is the first step to correcting your mistakes."

"Yeah," the musically inclined Loud sister replied, sounding a bit somber, "I was more of a right proper dolt to you over the years than I first thought."

"…I wouldn't go that far," Lincoln began, a wry look of mild amusement on his face, "After all, would a 'right proper dolt' use her guitar case as a bludgeoning weapon to strike someone in the side of their head in order to get said person off of me? Thanks for that save, by the way."

Chuckling a bit because Lincoln reminded her of how she totally took that bastard down, Luna replied, "No, I guess that a right proper dolt wouldn't put themselves at risk to save someone that she cared about." Stopping mid-walk, thus getting Lincoln to stop as well to look up at her, Luna said, "And you're welcome." When the walking resumed, Luna said, "By the way, would either you or Sam know _why_ those blokes were trying to bother us?"

"It has to do with a mix of you girls belonging to the school that those guys' school rivals," Lincoln began to explain, "Those guys belong to a band that rivals the band you and your friends belong to, and the fact that they wanted to rough you and Sam up because the two of you are dating and they're small-minded idiots who have not progressed with the rest of the world."

"Oh," Luna replied, taken a bit by surprise to hear that one of the reasons why she and Sam had those guys' ire was because they found the idea of two girls dating to be gross, "Wow." Lincoln could feel the tone of Luna's words, how they reflected shock and some sadness over the fact she and Sam, even with all the strides social progress had made, still had some hurdles to face.

Looking up at Luna, Lincoln said, "If it helps, I think that you and Sam go together as well as Lori and Bobby. Just…do me a favor and try not to refer to Sam as your 'Boo-Boo Bear'." Luna was touched by her younger brother's words of support for her relationship; Luna also couldn't help but laugh at the joke Lincoln had cracked.

With a laugh, Luna said, "Relax, Lincoln, you have my word that I won't call Sam 'Boo-Boo Bear', or any similar pet names Lori would use for Bobby. I…can't guarantee that Sam won't use such names when referring to me, though."

"Understandable," Lincoln replied with a nod. The two of them remained silent for a few moments before Lincoln said, "…Hey, Luna. If you can do me a solid, we'd be good."

To say that Luna was surprised would be an understatement; her little brother, who she was fearing would never see her as part of his family ever again, was offering to reconcile with her. So naturally, Luna had to ask an important question.

"What's the favor?"

…

Over at the Loud family residence, Luan was laying on her bed, reading one of her humor books. As she read, she heard a knock on the doorframe of her and Luna's bedroom. Looking up from her humor book, Luan saw that it was Luna who was knocking. "Hey Luna," Luan greeted in a casual tone, "Why knock? This is your room too."

"You said that you keep a record of all of the expenses that you ever had to cover for your comedy business, right?" Luna began.

After putting a bookmark into her book to keep her place, Luan replied as she got up and walked over to Luna, "Yeah, I do. Why?"

"Does that include the time you had to pay to fix your dummy, even though it was my fog equipment that damaged it?" the musically inclined Loud sister asked.

"Yeah, I wrote that down," Luan said as she walked over to a bookshelf, pulled out a small record book she kept there, and flipped through it for a bit. "…Aha, here we go," Luan said as she found the appropriate entry into her record book, "I had to pay thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents to get Mr. Coconuts fixed when your gear damaged him during the time Lori temporarily moved into the garage." Closing her record book and putting it back, Luan looked at her older sister and said, "Why bring that up-"

Luan stopped short when Luna fished out her wallet and removed two twenty dollar bills. "Would this cover what I owe you?" Luna asked, drawing a look of mild surprise mixed with piqued curiosity out of the comedic Loud sister.

"…I'll get you your change later," Luan remarked, deciding not to bother questioning why Luna was suddenly wanting to cover her past digressions so out of the blue as she accepted the money from Luna, "It's part of business dignity for me."

"Sounds fair," Luna replied with a nod. As the two sisters and roommates talked with one another, neither of them were aware that they were being watched by their brother Lincoln. The white-haired boy smiled to himself; it was a small smile, but one that was sincere in appreciation over how his sisters were making up with each other over a past issue between the two of them.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER NINETEEN

Author's note:

I noticed that I had, unintentionally, been having the sisters (aside from Lily) who Lincoln threw under the bus when he was questioned by Bobby and Ronnie Anne being the first ones who Lincoln reconciled with one after another. I wanted to break that trend, so I picked Luna to be the fifth sister that Lincoln reconciled with. I had trouble coming up with a big enough thing for Luna to do in order to deserve it, so I had her do a few smaller things, one of which was actually for Luan's benefit and not Lincoln's. Hopefully I was able to do a well enough job having Luna clean up her act. But as an old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway, I hope you all are ready, because the next chapter will be another Chandler adventure.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty: The Chandler tales, part three

Chandler McCann, a student at Royal Woods Elementary School, was relaxing a bit one day during recess as he sat beneath some shade, his hands resting behind his head as he leaned against a wall while sitting on the ground. The eleven-year-old boy thought that he had it made. To his credit, the red-headed boy wasn't too far off the mark. As one of the more popular kids at school, he was someone that commanded respect with his presence alone; getting on Chandler's nerves, or to otherwise be someone he wasn't all that fond of, wasn't too good of an idea.

…Still, the red-headed boy knew when to pick his battles. For starters, Chandler knew better than to try and start any sort of trouble with Ronnie Anne Santiago; anyone who messed with the Queen of Pain would find themselves thrown head-first into the nearest garbage can within very short order, and a rather noticeable percentage (at least seventy-two percent) of RWES's student population considered pranking Ronnie Anne to be a very effective method of suicide.

Chandler also had a less-than-favorable encounter with Lincoln Loud, that white-haired boy who frequently wore orange shirts, a while ago when Lincoln gave him a glare so fierce, Chandler thought that he was looking into the eyes of a violent killer, poised to strike at a moment's notice. Fearing that the white-haired boy might become another Ronnie Anne, Chandler was more than happy to oblige Lincoln his request of staying as far away as possible.

Also, Chandler had to, for the moment of course, refrain from trying to win over the affections of Astrid Ace, the cutest girl at RWES, because Astrid's samurai-like older brother, with the threat of getting Chandler's parents involved next time the red-headed boy made Astrid uncomfortable, strongly implored Chandler to refrain from flirting with Astrid and allow her to have some space. Chandler realized, to be fair, that he _was_ being rather insistent, so he was glad to take the time off from trying to pursue the cutest girl at RWES.

Also, Chandler was glad that he didn't get the deal that Ross, his rival for Astrid's heart, had received. From what Chandler had heard, Ross was visited by Astrid's Viking-like older sister and one of Lincoln's older sisters; all that the red-headed boy knows for sure about that visit is that Astrid's older sister apparently favored a far more intimidating method than what Astrid's older brother had used to get Chandler himself to leave the cute white-haired girl be (for the time being, at least).

Regardless, Chandler had something to keep himself occupied; in recent events, Chandler's dad, who works at the local sewage treatment plant, is competing with one of his co-workers for a new position at work. This co-worker of Chandler's dad's is the father of Francisco, a boy from Royal Woods Middle School. Chandler and Francisco have gotten into something of a rivalry, trying to one-up each other, and whenever one boy looks good (or bad), it tends to reflect on the dad of the boy in question. Luckily for Chandler, only Francisco has had any bad moments, some of which the red-headed boy may or may not have had a hand in orchestrating.

Seeing as how his family's financial strength is tied to the deal he had going with Francisco, Chandler decided to focus on that for the time being, and focusing on that has paid off so far, in the form of not having been met with any physical violence.

…Who ever thought that _Lincoln_, of all people, would ever become as frightening as Ronnie Anne? Shrugging, Chandler supposed that anything could happen. Anywho, as he sat in the shade, Chandler was approached by Sid and Frank, two of his friends (i.e. goons). "Oh, hey guys," the red-headed boy greeted in a friendly manner as he got up, "What's up?"

"Hey Chandler," Sid began, "You know Rusty Spokes, right?"

Chandler, with a mildly curious look on his face, said, "Doesn't his dad work over at 'Duds for Dudes'?"

"I've always been under the impression that Mr. Spokes actually owns that place," Sid remarked, "But that's beside the point. Anywho, Rusty got himself one of those fidget spinners."

"You don't say," Chandler said before he reached into the front right pocket on his pants and pulled out a fidget spinner himself. It was a gold-colored one that looked rather impressive, even though it clearly wasn't made of actual gold (it was made from the same material as any other similar toy).

Frank, with a mildly worried look, said, "But here's the thing. Rusty's been performing cool tricks with his fidget spinner. He's even managed to gather a crowd of on-lookers!"

The expression on Chandler's face changed just slightly, but it was enough to show that the red-headed boy did not like the fact that someone other than him was the center of attention. "Boys," Chandler said to Sid and Frank as he casually slipped his toy back into his pocket, "It looks like I've got a show to put on."

…

Over in another area of the playground of RWES, a group of kids had formed a crowd around Rusty as he performed a series of impressive tricks with a fidget spinner. In fact, two of the kids in the crowd were Clyde McBride and Zach Gurdle, both of which were friends of Rusty's.

"Wow, Rusty's really good, isn't he?" Zach remarked as he and Clyde watched the tricks.

"Yeah, and there's actually some reports that those spinners are effective stress-release tools," Clyde said as he nodded in agreement. Looking back over to where Rusty was performing tricks, Clyde added, "I can see why people would think that."

"Stand aside, everyone," a voice that was familiar to Clyde and Zach called out, although it wasn't a voice they were fond of. Suddenly, the crowd parted, allowing Chandler, Sid and Frank to walk in. It had been the red-headed boy who had called out. Pulling his own fidget spinner from his pocket, Chandler said, "Let me show you who a real pro does things."

Sighing in a mildly exasperated tone, Clyde whispered to Zach, "Oh great, Chandler's being full of himself again."

"I really wish that someone would put him in his place already," Zach whispered back to Clyde, drawing a nod of agreement out of the African American boy.

Scoffing in a mildly annoyed tone, Rusty said, "What is it this time, Chandler?"

"I heard talk that you're pretty good at performing tricks with that," Chandler remarked in his casual, cocky tone while pointing to Rusty's fidget spinner, a standard red one. Holding up his golden-colored spinner, the cocky red-headed boy continued with a heavy hint of overconfidence in his tone, "Let's see who is better at this, hmm?"

"You're on," Rusty replied, a look of challenging amusement on his face right before taking the first move of the impromptu schoolyard duel. Gently pinching one of the circular pads on one of the outer points, Rusty then flung the fidget spinner into the air; when it fell down, it landed with its middle circle on the tip of Rusty's right index finger, where Rusty proceeded to spin it like he was a pizza maker spinning and tossing pizza dough.

"Ha!" Chandler laughed, "You think that's impressive? Watch this!" Chandler flung his spinner into the air, and then held up his right pinky finger, intending to catch his spinner the way Rusty caught his on his index finger. However, Chandler's spinner landed right on his face with a smack, drawing a surprised yelp from the cocky red-headed boy. As a result of Chandler's epic fail, a lot of the gathered kids began to laugh.

"Umm…what was that supposed to be?" the older Spokes brother asked, clearly amused to see Chandler fail like that so badly.

"Grr," Chandler growled in an annoyed tone, "This isn't over, Rusty." Chandler then proceeded to turn and walk away, his goon-friends following along behind him as always.

After Chandler and his flunkies were gone, Clyde and Zach turned to face each other where they stood in the crowd. "Man, was that satisfying to watch!" Clyde remarked to his friend.

"You know it, dude!" Zach agreed as he and Clyde high-fived each other.

…

Chandler, with Sid and Frank accompanying him, were in the school's library, as the red-headed boy decided that he needed to sulk a bit. "You have to do something to get back at Rusty, dude," Sid suggested as he and Frank tried to reassure their friend/leader, "The fact that-"

To the collective surprise of both Sid and Frank, Chandler held up a hand in a gesture to cut off Sid's plan of getting back at the older Spokes brother. Lowering the hand he had used, the red-headed boy let out a mildly resigned sigh. "…In all honesty, dudes," Chandler began, "I'd rather that we just let this one go."

"Let it go?" Frank said, the mild hint of incredulousness in his tone indicating that he was surprised to be hearing what Chandler had said, "Wow, I figured that you'd be wanting to do something to get back at Rusty, like frame him as a bully, or fake a call over the school intercom system saying that Rusty's mom came to the school with some fresh underwear for him."

Gently shaking his head, Chandler said, "I took a risk and it floundered. No use in being a sore loser just because of one minor setback that, in the long run, isn't going to mean anything given what I'm trying to focus on right now."

Both Sid and Frank knew what the red-headed boy was talking about. Given how much potential good Chandler will be able to benefit from if his plans come to fruition, the slim boy in the red hoodie and the well-fed blonde boy turned to face each other, nodded in agreement, then turned back to face Chandler. "…Yeah, you got a point, dude," Sid remarked, "You got too much stuff going on to put time and effort into caring about a loser like Spokes." Frank said words that, to a degree, showed that he held the same opinion as Sid.

Nodding to his friends that were with him, Chandler said, "Thanks, dudes. It's great knowing that I have you guys, as well as Trent and Richie, in my corner." The three boys decided to just stay in the library for the rest of the break before the next period started, simply hanging out with each other. Chandler, as he hung out with Sid and Frank, realized that being in the company of those he can count on provided a better feeling than he believed he would've gotten out of seeing Rusty embarrassed, either by losing to Chandler or by being the victim of a revenge scheme.

It was a revelation that actually gave the red-headed boy a lot to think about.

* * *

The following day, Chandler, as well as Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie, were walking along through one of the hallways of RWES. "Hey Chandler, did you hear how that Francisco jerk you're competing with almost got arrested?" Frank began.

"Are you serious?" Chandler replied, his surprised tone clearly indicating that he found amusement in what the well-fed blonde boy had just said.

Nodding a few times in the affirmative, Frank continued, "Yeah. Word has it that he got into a scuffle with a girl from our school over at Royal Woods Mall. The girl's older brother, who is a student at Royal Woods High, saw what was happening and immediately intervened, easily getting Francisco to back off. According to the police that had arrived on scene, Francisco said that the girl had started it, but the girl's older brother insisted that his little sister couldn't have done so as she, in his words, doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Ultimately, both Francisco and the girl were let off with warnings."

"Well that's lame," Chandler said in a mildly disappointed tone as he snapped his fingers, "I bet that if that jerk had gotten arrested, and the big important guy at my dad's work heard about it, then there would be no way Francisco's dad would get that promotion."

"…I bet that the big important guy will still hear about Francisco's near arrest anyway," Trent pointed out, "I mean, word here in Royal Woods tends to travel surprisingly fast."

Nodding in agreement, Chandler said, "Yeah. People here in Royal Woods tend to be rather close." As the five boys walked, they turned a corner to head into another hallway, but the moment they did, they accidentally bumped into a fairly tall student of the school. If his appearance were any indication of what kind of person he was, he seemed to be trying to make himself the new king of the hill at RWES, similar to what Biff Bizowski was trying to pull back when rumors of Ronnie Anne potentially moving started circulating.

"Hey!" the older student snapped at Chandler and the other four boys in an aggressive tone, "Watch where you're going, turds!"

"With all due respect," Chandler began as he tried to defuse the situation through diplomacy, "You're just as guilty of bumping into my friends and me as we are of bumping into you."

Immediately offended by Chandler's implication that he was just as at fault as Chandler and the other four boys, the older kid raised a fist threateningly, clearly intending to strike at Chandler and the others if they didn't start sucking up to him right away. "Are you saying that I ought to apologize to you?!" the older kid snapped, "Because I've got a really good reason here why not only should I not have to apologize to you turds, but YOU all ought to start apologizing to me for implying that I'm at any fault here!"

"Oh yeah, sure," the red-headed boy remarked in a calm, casual tone that carried a hint of sarcasm, "Go ahead. Hit the smaller kids that didn't do anything. Let's see how well that plays out for you when the teachers and Principal Huggins catches wind of it."

"None of them are going to be finding out because you and your fellow turds here won't be telling them squat!" the older kid threatened, "Do I make myself clear, brat?!"

Giving the older kid the same unafraid, casual look that he's been using so far, Chandler said, "…Yeah, I'm only going to give you one warning. You ought to back down and go the other way right now. If you _do_ try to hit my friends and me, keep in mind that we outnumber you five-to-one." Shaking his head gently, the red-headed boy continued, "Do you really think that trying to deal with that much all at once will work out for you?" As Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie stood behind Chandler, chuckling in self-assured tones, the older kid simply arched an eyebrow, as if he was considering the challenge that the conceited boy just had presented him with.

…

About a minute or so later, Chandler and his four friends were picking themselves up around near a garbage can, with Trent and Frank even having to team up to pull Chandler himself out of said garbage can, into which the conceited boy was thrown head-first. "…With all due respect, Chandler," Trent remarked, "There are some pretty tough kids here at the school. In fact, I heard that one of Lincoln Loud's younger sisters who is in the first grade beat up Ross and two of his goons in a three-on-one fight a while ago, even though those guys are fifth graders."

"Yeah, this is going to call for some more drastic measures," Chandler remarked dryly as he flicked a snack cake wrapper off of his shoulder.

"What do you think we ought to do, man?" Richie asked, a curious and mildly concerned look on his face.

Shrugging, Chandler began to reply, "Well trying to use physical force, or at the very least implying that we're going to try and use physical force, is not the smartest thing in the world to do when dealing with that guy."

"How about we just go and tell Principal Huggins?" Sid offered.

"That would, at best, only be a temporary solution," Chandler explained, "Remember when Biff got in trouble for beating up Astrid's little brother Argent? Biff was back to his old tricks within short order after he was punished for that. Who's to say that jerk won't be the same?"

"Yeah, and while were on the subject," Frank said, "There's something I've been wondering. I haven't seen Biff here at school for a while. What do you think happened to him?"

"I head rumor that Biff was forced to transfer schools out of sheer embarrassment due to having massive diarrhea in the park, and a lot of the kids here at school saw it," Trent remarked with a shrug, "Also, I heard that Biff was attempting to intimidate at least two of Lincoln's younger sisters at the time. Biff probably heard of what Lincoln's been up to since he returned from that extended absence, so he probably got scared that Lincoln would come for him."

Chandler, upon hearing Trent mention that the intimidating white-haired boy had multiple little sisters that were students here at RWES, had a look of sudden inspiration on his face. After thinking about a few things, Chandler said, "…Maybe we might be able to make use of one of Lincoln's younger sisters."

"What you mean, Chandler?" Sid asked, a confused look of curiosity on his face.

"Think about it," Chandler began to explain to his friends in a casual manner, "The student population here as a whole was simply more or less afraid of Biff. Then Lincoln returns from his extended absence, scares a number of us here at school myself included with that Killing Intent of his, and suddenly the other kids here at school think that Lincoln is the next Ronnie Anne."

Placing his left hand on Sid's right shoulder, Chandler said in a knowing tone, "Don't you think that we should inform that older kid who whumped the five of us that one of Lincoln's little sisters, say, the first grader who likes dressing like a princess, had said some rather disparaging things about his mother?" Realizing what their friend was getting at, Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie all started to chuckle amongst themselves.

* * *

The next school day, Chandler and his friends proceeded to put their plan into action. The first thing that they did was find out what the name of the older kid who beat them was. Through their investigation, Chandler and his friends had discovered that the older boy's name was Chris, and that he was held back a year due to missing a lot of classes due to getting into so much trouble. Surprisingly, the marks that Chris got on his schoolwork tended to be passable; he wasn't an academically inclined student of Lisa Loud's level by any stretch of the imagination, but Chris would have been Royal Woods Middle School's problem right now if it had not been for all of the time he had spent playing hooky.

Chandler and his friends also discovered that Chris had something of a problem with his temper, and that it was the main reason why the older boy tended to get into so much trouble at school. That was actually a good thing for the plan that Chandler and the other four boys were working on, given that the plan was to trick Chris into physically striking Lincoln's little sister who likes to dress up like a princess. After they got the information that they needed, the red-headed boy and his friends began to carry out their plan to get revenge against Chris.

During recess, Chandler and his friends were looking around the playground for the older boy that they wanted to get back at. "Look, there he is," Richie said to the others, pointing out where Chris was at on the playground. The older boy was currently leaning with his back against part of the wall that surrounded the playground, just alone and giving off an air that made the other kids on the playground give him a wide berth.

"Alright boys, follow my lead and let me do the talking," Chandler remarked before walking over to where the older boy was loitering. After a few seconds, the five fifth-grade boys made their way over to where the older boy was brooding to himself. Upon noticing the arrival of Chandler and his group, Chris sneered in disgust.

"The hell do the five of you want?" Chris began in a mildly threatening tone, "You all want me to give the lot of you another beating?"

Gently shaking his head in the negative, the red-headed boy said, "No, no, you got us all wrong." Casually gesturing to the older boy, Chandler continued, "My friends here and I had just heard something that we figured you would be wanting to know about, especially considering how it might affect you personally."

"What is it?" the older boy said in a tone that was one-quarter asking and three-quarters demanding.

"You know that one girl in the first grade?" Chandler began, "You know, the one with the long blonde hair and has a tendency to dress up like a princess all the damn time? Yeah, I heard that she was going to publish some sort of poem in the school newspaper that's a thinly veiled insult to you, and that the poem also included a few disparaging jabs aimed at your mother."

"Are you for real?!" Chris retorted instantly, his fuse clearly having been trimmed to a noticeably short length.

With a troubled sigh (which was faked, not that Chris could tell), Chandler replied, "As bad as it is, yes. I even heard the princess chuckle to herself in an amused tone while she was writing on some line paper earlier." Shaking his head in a disappointed manner, the red-headed boy added, "She must have been working on the poem she intends to put in the school newspaper to get the other kids here at school to make fun of you."

"Yeah, I'm going to go educate that spoiled brat better," Chris remarked as he got up from leaning against the wall and walked off, clearly intending to find the girl that Chandler had just described to him. When the older boy had left, Chandler and his friends all turned to face each other. The conceited boy shot his goon-friends a thumbs-up and a grin, clearly amused that their plan was working well so far.

…

Chandler's plan went off without a hitch; he and his friends saw Chris go up to Lincoln's princess younger sister, who was with her twin and two boys in their grade, and shove her over onto the ground with a foot slam from his right foot. Not two seconds after that, Lincoln himself, accompanied by his four friends, came onto the scene and, upon the princess's twin and those two boys telling Lincoln what had happened, grabbed Chris by his shirt collar and proceeded to shout angrily at him, giving him a savage, enraged look that could kill.

Even the older boy, for all of his air of self-assured superiority, for all of the respect via fear that he commanded at RWES, faltered instantly when he was on the receiving end of the white-haired boy's Killing Intent. To make things even more amusing for Chandler and his friends, Lincoln looked like he was about to punch Chris across the face in a move that would have undoubtedly resulted in the older boy's nose getting broken.

However, Mrs. Johnson arrived on the scene and, when everyone around Lincoln and Chris told her that Chris had just up and shoved a first grade girl over onto the ground, the fifth-grade teacher took Chris with her to Principal Huggin's office. Mrs. Johnson couldn't really blame Lincoln for losing his temper, given that Chris _did_ bully one of his (Lincoln's) younger sisters, but she did ask the white-haired boy to try and reel his temper in.

"Holy…" Frank said as he, Chandler and the rest of their group were walking home from school that day after school was done for the day, "…If Lincoln wasn't the talk of the school before, he most certainly has to be now, given that he intimidated that Chris kid into peeing himself." With a laugh, the well-fed blonde boy added, "That was the highlight of the day if you ask me!"

"I also heard that since Chris shoving Lincoln's little sister like that was apparently the last straw, he's going to get expelled," Trent added, "It's a good thing that when we were brought in, for questioning, we were able to completely fool the school staff into thinking that we didn't put Chris up to what he did."

As Trent, Frank, Sid and Richie all laughed amongst themselves, Chandler allowed himself a small, self-amused smile. Sure, what he just got away with doing won't affect his ongoing rivalry against Francisco one way or the other. But getting an older kid at school who had a reputation of being a notorious bully expelled, with the added benefit of using an unsuspecting Lincoln (who many at RWES claim is the KING of Pain to Ronnie Anne's title of Queen of Pain) to put said older kid in his place. This was enough to prompt Chandler to think, "_Life is good_."

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY

Author's note:

Yeah, the older incarnation of this chapter's plot was a lot longer (by roughly three-thousand words, if the word count function in Word is anything to go by). Although I had cut out a rather considerable amount of content, I still think, or would at least LIKE to think, that I was still able to get the spirit across; older bully bothers Chandler and his group, Chandler and his group plot revenge, Chandler tricks older boy into bullying one of Lincoln's younger sisters, Lincoln gets up in older boy's face, older boy gets himself into very deep doo-doo, Chandler and his friends get away scot free, hooray and huzza, the party is at my place tonight. Anyway, next time will be a rather interesting chapter. Or rather, I am going to try to make it an interesting chapter.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-one: Restaurant Rage

Lincoln couldn't believe it; he was standing in a dark alleyway in Great Lakes City. Although this was something of a recurring theme for the white-haired boy, there were two things that made _this_ specific time different from all of the previous times in the past. The first thing was that Lincoln, this time, was not dressed up in his outfit that he wore when he did his dark work as Broken Mirror, the violent vigilante who had taken it upon himself to do the work in Great Lakes City that local law enforcement had seemingly decided to flat out ignore. However, that was very easily explained by the _second_ thing that made this occasion stand out from past examples.

Broken Mirror himself was sitting across from Lincoln.

The two boys, one a regular kid from Royal Woods, Michigan, and the other his murderous hero identity (if you would call a character like Broken Mirror a 'hero'), sat opposite of each other at a fairly large wooden spool, the kind used for storing certain kinds of wire, and each boy was sitting on plastic milk crates. Lincoln's was red and Broken Mirror's was black. Broken Mirror leaned forward slightly so that his elbows were on the surface of the wooden spool. His left hand was covering his right, and his chin rested on top of his left hand. The vigilante was making no move, unless one were to count casually examining his civilian counterpart.

The white-haired boy was very much worried.

As if on instinct, Lincoln reached over his right shoulder, as if to grasp at the handle of a weapon that was holstered over his back. Sure enough, Lincoln grabbed the familiar hilt of Starlit Sky, the high-quality bokken he had received as a gift from his Kendo instructor, Aggro Ace. Seeing that the white-haired boy had went for a weapon, Broken Mirror casually held up his left hand, its palm facing Lincoln. This was a gesture to signal to Lincoln that there was no need for him to go for his weapon. Seeing Broken Mirror give this signal, Lincoln, more out of curiosity and mild confusion than willingness to obey the vigilante, removed his hand from Starlit Sky's hilt.

Seeing that Lincoln had taken his hand away from his bokken, Broken Mirror resumed his casual position of sitting at the wooden spool, chin resting over hands. The white-haired boy could tell that his vigilante self was giving him a visual look-over, sizing him up like an aloof teenage boy would size up a girl who confessed to him, or how Lincoln's ex-sister Leni would size up two different dresses that she wanted to get but could only get one so she was looking to see which one would be the best option.

Ever since he had first come to in this scenario, Lincoln saw that Broken Mirror had yet to say a word; unsurprising, as when he himself operated as the vigilante, Lincoln never spoke a word to anyone who had ever seen/spotted him. Lincoln gave his vigilante self a look suggesting that he wanted him to speak first. But the murderous vigilante simply returned the look to his civilian counterpart, adding a hint of coolness that would broker no compromise. The white-haired boy knew then and there that he would be doing all of the talking here.

"…You can't forgive them, can you?" Lincoln said. The white-haired boy's question prompted Broken Mirror to arch an eyebrow, suggesting that his interest in where this conversation would be heading had been piqued. "You know," Lincoln continued, "My family. Or rather…" After a bit of consideration, Lincoln amended his words. "…I should say _our_ family." The vigilante's eyes widened just a bit when his civilian counterpart had brought up the Louds. The white-haired boy saw this, this momentary drop in Broken Mirror's total stoicism.

A chink in his armor.

"In your defense," Lincoln continued as he spoke to the vigilante, "I cannot honestly blame you. After all, what they did to drive me away, which eventually led me into becoming you, is not something that can be easily forgiven, if at all. As it stands right now, I'm not all that sure if I'll be able to reconcile with _all_ of them. There's one or two who, from what I'm seeing right now, I will _never_ be able to forgive."

Lincoln's words made Broken Mirror's eyes assume a more relaxed expression, signifying that he liked hearing what his civilian counterpart was saying about him not ever being able to let go of his resentment to at least some of the Louds. However, the vigilante's eyes widened again out of shock when Lincoln said, "Which is why I'm willing to give the one I have not yet reconciled with time to prove to me that, contrary to what I am feeling right now, they _are _deserving of me acknowledging them as my family once again. Things that are worth it take time, and with what is going on right now, it will need plenty of time."

Broken Mirror's gaze never left Lincoln's, nor did Lincoln's gaze ever leave Broken Mirror's. The two boys, the white-haired civilian and his vigilante counterpart, kept their respective gazes locked onto each other's eyes, neither daring to break eye contact. While the two boys continued their impromptu staring contest, Lincoln slowly reached for Starlit Sky's hilt again. The last time he had seen Broken Mirror, the white-haired boy had been able to defeat him. The vigilante was _smaller_ than Lincoln; he was not the whole of Lincoln, just a small part.

…But Broken Mirror was a part of Lincoln nonetheless.

With a bit of exhaling through his nostrils, Broken Mirror leaned back in his seat slightly, both hands raised at around shoulder level, with their palms facing Lincoln. The white-haired boy could tell that this was his vigilante counterpart's way of admitting defeat. Getting up from the overturned plastic milk crate he sat on, Broken Mirror turned around and proceeded to walk away, leaving Lincoln alone in the alleyway.

However, just as Lincoln was getting up from the large wooden spool himself, Broken Mirror turned around slightly, only his right side facing his civilian counterpart. Broken Mirror made eye contact with Lincoln just one more time. The vigilante gave the white-haired boy a slightly wincing glare. It was a serious look that did all the talking for the ever-quiet killer. Lincoln could tell very well what his vigilante counterpart was asking with that look.

_Can you _really_ forgive all of them_?

Without anything else, Broken Mirror turned his head away from facing Lincoln, turned the whole of his body away as he continued to walk away like he had been. Soon enough, Lincoln found himself alone in that alleyway where he had just had a conversation with himself, or rather another version of himself from another time. It wasn't much of a conversation, as Lincoln did all of the talking himself. And yet Lincoln had gotten more from 'talking' to Broken Mirror just now than he ever got from talking to anyone else.

It was up to Lincoln what he was going to do with what he got.

…

With a bit of a start, Lincoln woke up from his dream. It wasn't a nightmare like what he had the last couple of times he woke up with a start ever since he returned from Great Lakes City, but the dream still had left quite the impact with the white-haired boy. Looking over to the dresser in his bedroom, Lincoln right away spotted two things; the first thing being his old-fashioned digital nightstand clock, which told Lincoln that the time was roughly five-forty-five, and the second thing being the carrying case that held Starlit Sky.

Getting up out of bed, Lincoln walked over to his dresser. Looking to the carrying case that held his bokken, Lincoln gently placed his right hand on the end where the bokken's tip should be. Lincoln slowly ran his hand over the length of the carrying case, as if he were stroking the back of a very long cat. Just as it had done back during Lincoln's dream where he vanquished Broken Mirror, Starlit Sky was a source of strength, a source of comfort, that he was able to draw upon.

"_I wonder_…" Lincoln thought as he patted the end of the carrying case where Starlit Sky's hilt should be, "…_I wonder if Starlit Sky will help me be able to reconcile with the rest of the Louds_." The white-haired boy was lost in thought for a bit as he contemplated the surprising progress that he had been able to make when it came to reconciling with the Louds one at a time; by the time that he turned his attention back to the old-fashioned digital nightstand clock, Lincoln saw that it was about ten minutes until six in the morning.

Knowing that the Loud sisters, both those he had reconciled with and those he was still shunning, would begin to awaken sometime in a few minutes, Lincoln decided that he ought to take the opportunity to go use the bathroom right now. He can very easily get a shower in right now, so the white-haired boy decided to seize the opportunity. When he got to the bathroom, Lincoln remembered how the bathroom door was occasionally broken, especially in regards to the knob and/or being able to lock the knob, thus preventing people from walking in unknowingly.

As such, Lincoln tapped a sign that said 'occupied; taking a shower right now' to the front of the bathroom's door. Additionally, Lincoln placed a ten-pound weight right up against the door once he was in the bathroom and had closed the door behind him; if the sign he placed wouldn't be enough to tell someone that privacy (a rare commodity in the Loud family) was needed at the time, then when they tried to force their way in, they would find a lot more resistance than what they would have expected.

Far be it from Lincoln to let anyone see him in the buff.

* * *

Breakfast was a relatively quiet affair that morning, Lincoln noted after he finished his shower, got dressed and sat down at the dining table to eat his simple breakfast of a bowl of Zombie Bran cereal (Luna explained that she had bought it while she did a run to the store earlier for some sodas she got for when she was expecting some friends over later). Sitting at the dining table with the white-haired boy were the five oldest Loud sisters, although Lincoln has yet to forgive either Lori or Leni for their respective parts in driving him to run away.

"Hey bro," Luna began after taking a sip from her mug of coffee, getting Lincoln to look up at her, "Would you mind it too much if Luan and I borrowed you for today? There's something that we want to show you in town."

The white-haired boy's interest was piqued by Luna's request. "…I'm going to have to ask where you and Luan plan to take me first," Lincoln replied. Luckily for both Luna and Luan, they were able to pick up on the fact that Lincoln was not in the mood for any answer that was along the lines of 'it's going to be a surprise'.

"You know how dad has always wanted to open his own restaurant?" Luan began, "Well, he was finally able to do so a few weeks before you came back. Luna and I were going to take you over so you could check it out." Luna nodded in agreement, showing that Luan said was what she also had in mind.

Looking over at his comedic older sister, Lincoln simply gave her a dry, albeit mildly curious, look. "…I have a dad?" the white-haired boy remarked, the surprise in his tone carrying a hint of knowing sarcasm.

Right away, Luan realized her mistake, that being she had referred to the Loud patriarch as being Lincoln's dad before the white-haired boy had forgiven him. "Oops, sorry," Luan said quickly, "I mean me and Luna's dad. He got his restaurant open."

"So Mr. Loud finally achieved his dream of owning a restaurant," Lincoln remarked casually as he turned his attention back to his cereal. Hearing their brother refer to their dad as 'Mr. Loud' was admittedly a bit painful to the five oldest Loud girls. Lori and Leni were especially pained to hear their younger brother's words, as they knew full well that both of them were still in the same boat as their father. "How's the business treating Mr. Loud, by the way?" Lincoln asked in a casual manner, figuring he ought to at least try to make conversation.

This time, all five of the five oldest Loud girls had uncomfortable looks, although it had nothing to do with the fact that Lincoln was still denying his relation to a little over half of the family at the moment. "Although his restaurant is doing a little better at the moment than either Giovanni Chang's or Aloha Comrade," Lori began, "And is about equal with Jean Juan's and Bangers and Mosh, da…" Lori stopped short upon seeing the dry look on Lincoln's face. "…My father's restaurant," the oldest Loud sister said after changing her words a bit, "Is, like every other actual restaurant in Royal Woods, losing a fair bit of business to Odin-Dono's."

"Odin-Dono's, huh?" the white-haired boy remarked casually, not the barest hint of concern or care for the Loud patriarch's plight in his tone, as he looked down at his cereal with an almost bored expression, "That's the Swedish-Japanese place that Astrid Ace's family owns, right?"

"Totally," Luna replied as she nodded once in the affirmative, "In fact, out of all of the established restaurants in Royal Woods, my dad's place is one of the lowest ranked compared to others in terms of how many customers it gets a week. It's barely doing better than Bangers and Mosh, which is the overall lowest ranked."

"Meanwhile, the Ace's place is the highest ranked," Lynn explained, "I actually had lunch there a few days ago with Ulfric and his parents." With a hint of concerned worry in her expression, the athletic Loud sister said to everyone else at the table, "Please don't tell dad about that. If he hears that I had lunch there, he'll flip his lid."

The white-haired boy decided to ignore the fact that Lynn, by some of her words just now, had implied that her father is also his (Lincoln's) father. Instead, Lincoln found greater interest in the fact that Mr. Loud would apparently be very displeased to hear any of his children eating over at Odin-Dono's. Given what the girls at the table with him have been saying so far about the rivalry between the established restaurants in Royal Woods, Lincoln could see why Mr. Loud wouldn't be happy if he heard that any of his daughters (as far as Lincoln knew, Mr. Loud didn't have any sons) ate at the very restaurant that his own was losing business to.

…That still didn't excuse the look of worry that Lincoln saw in Lynn's eyes, though. Not as far as he was concerned.

Seeing that there was only milk remaining in his bowl of cereal, Lincoln lifted the bowl up to his mouth and carefully drank the milk. Setting the bowl down, Lincoln turned to face Luna and Luan. "…I actually am a bit curious about this restaurant that your dad apparently has," Lincoln said to his older sisters, "I'll be needing a bit of time to get ready, but once I am, I can go as soon as the two of you are ready to take me."

Both Luna and Luan smiled a bit when they turned to face each other, but they turned their attention back to Lincoln when they heard him say, "By the way, I don't suppose that Mr. Loud is at his restaurant right now, is he?"

"He should be there," Luna replied after checking the time on the wall clock that was in the dining room, "The breakfast rush is about to begin." The white-haired boy nodded once in acknowledgement before he got up from the table with his empty bowl and the spoon he used to eat his cereal with. Depositing the dishes in the kitchen sink, Lincoln then proceeded to head up the stairs to go into his bedroom.

Lincoln got dressed, straightened himself out a bit, then once he was done, he left his room. Luna and Luan were still needing a bit of time, so Lincoln decided to wait for them in the living room, watching a bit of TV to pass the time. After a few minutes, Luna and Luan were both ready. The white-haired boy got up from the sofa and, following along behind Luna and Luan, left the house to go see Mr. Loud's restaurant.

* * *

After Luna and Luan were both ready to go, they took Lincoln with them into town. After a fair bit of time, the three siblings had made their way to a restaurant that looked like it had once been run down but was recently bought and refurbished/restored. Looking up at the sign next to the restaurant, Lincoln saw that the place was called 'Lynn's Table'. The white-haired boy had a dry, unamused look on his face.

Gesturing to the Loud patriarch's dream made real, Luna said, "Well bro, this here is the restaurant that…" Catching herself in time due to remembering how her brother currently felt, Luna said, "…Me and Luan's dad owns. What do you think?"

"…He named it after himself partly," Lincoln noted, his tone sounding as unamused as his face would suggest he currently felt.

"Heh, heh," Luan chuckled, a hint of nervousness in her tone, "Well, you know me and Luna's dad. A bit on the prideful side since he likes to name things after himself." Trying to calm down the nervousness she felt, Luna then said, "Well then, Lincoln, why don't the three of us go on inside? The food is pretty good, so it'll be quite the experience." Looking up at his older sisters, Lincoln saw that both wore mildly hopeful expressions.

Figuring that both Luna and Luan were trying to be nice to him, especially considering how both of them were among the few in the Loud family to have reconciled with him, Lincoln figured that he ought to oblige the comedian and the musician. Besides, if the cooking here was as good as Mr. Loud's cooking at home (aside from a select few of the very common weekly meals), then the white-haired boy had a feeling that he would have a very pleasant dining experience.

* * *

Entering the restaurant with Luna and Luan, Lincoln saw that the first thing they encountered was a podium near the entrance, and that said podium was manned by someone employed as a greeter. To the white-haired boy's piqued curiosity, the greeter was actually Bobby Santiago, the boyfriend of Lincoln's older ex-sister Lori. Bobby, upon seeing Lincoln, Luan and Luna, had a pleasantly surprised look on his face.

"Yo guys," Bobby greeted, "I wasn't expecting you here!"

"What are you talking about, Bobby?" Luan asked while gesturing to herself and her siblings, "Our dad owns the place." Although Luan had just implied that Mr. Loud was his dad, Lincoln was not going to hold it against her; after all, Bobby wasn't aware that the Louds each have to prove themselves worthy of being acknowledged by Lincoln again, and that Mr. Loud was one of those who have yet to prove themselves. Lincoln wondered what Bobby would have to say if he learned what was going on, especially if he learned that Lori was among those who have yet to reconcile with him.

Giving Bobby a wry look, Luna remarked, "If anything, Luan, Lincoln and I weren't expecting you to be here."

With a bit of an embarrassed chuckle, Bobby explained, "Yeah, I was just hired here as the greeter manning the podium. It's my latest job."

Giving Bobby a wry look of his own, Lincoln remarked, "…I'm going to guess that Lori had put in a good word for you. After all, she _does_ know the man who owns the place." Hearing the white-haired boy's remark drew a bit of amused laughter out of the Hispanic teen who has been known to work many jobs, with the latest one being restaurant greeter. After his bit of laughter had died down, Bobby gave a nod in the affirmative.

"Yeah, Lori was able to convince Mr. Loud to give me a shot here," Bobby said. With a look of embarrassment, Bobby said, "You know, of all the jobs that I've ever worked, this is the first one where I'm dating my boss's daughter. It's got me kind of worried, you know?"

"I'm sure that dad won't let your relationship with Lori have a say in your performance on the job here," Luna pointed out, "It would be rather unprofessional of him if he did let that happen." Lincoln nodded in agreement with what his musically inclined older sister had said; if Mr. Loud _did_ allow that to occur, then the white-haired boy would lose what little respect he might still have left for his ex-father.

As the three Loud siblings that were present talked to Bobby, Kotaro came walking up. "Oi, new kid," Kotaro said to the Hispanic teen, "It's your break time, so I'm here to relieve you for the next thirty minutes or so."

Sighing in a mildly embarrassed tone, Bobby said, "I was keeping track of time."

"Well given that you've worked through breaks on no less than four separate occasions," Kotaro began to point out, "Then Lynn wouldn't feel like he had to set some reminders for you." With a look of realization on his face, Kotaro turned to face the Loud siblings, having realized that they were there, although he didn't know who specifically was there until he turned to see; he only had a feeling that someone was there.

"Oh, you're some of Lynn's kids," Kotaro remarked to Lincoln, Luna and Luan, a hint of mild amusement in his tone, "I take it that you're here to support your old man's business?"

Luna nodded a bit in the affirmative, and was about to say something. However, before Luna could get one word out, a cell phone's ringing went off. Bobby, looking like he had just realized something, reached into a pocket on his pants to remove his smartphone, which was the source of the aforementioned ringing. Seeing that it was Lori's number on the caller ID, Bobby proceeded to answer the call.

"Babe, what's up?" Bobby greeted as he and Kotaro switched places, "Yeah, I'm at work but I literally just got on break. Oh, before I forget, some of your sisters and the bro are here." Bobby listened for a bit before saying, "Oh, you knew about that. Yeah, this is the bro's first time seeing your dad's place." Bobby listened on for a bit more as he ended up going with Lincoln, Luna and Luan to whatever table they ended up getting.

While he listened to Lori over the phone, Bobby suddenly had a look of confusion in his face. "What sort of interests does Aggro have?" the Hispanic teen said in a curious tone, "Could you be a bit more specific, babe?" It wasn't just Bobby who was curious as to why Lori was asking about the male Ace twin; Luna and Luan were also curious. Lincoln was especially curious, as it was his Kendo instructor that was being talked about.

After close to a minute of listening to Lori over the phone, Bobby said, "Well for music, I know that Aggro likes listening to the full-length versions of some of the songs from this one anime he really likes. I don't know too much about his other habits, so you'd have to ask him. By the way, can I ask you about why you're asking me about Aggro and his interests?" Lincoln and his two sisters that were with him were especially keen to learn about Lori's reason for asking about the male Ace twin and his habits/interests.

"…What makes you say that, babe?" Bobby replied after hearing Lori's answer over the phone. After a few more moments, the Hispanic teen said, "She told you that she was going to Odin-Dono's because she hopes to see Aggro there? Well that would be a sign, I guess. Is there anything else that might be a reason why you'd think that?" After Bobby listened to Lori's answer for a bit, he turned his attention to Lincoln.

"Hey Linc, bro," the Hispanic teen began, "Lori says that whenever you go to Aggro's place to learn Kendo from him, your sister Leni usually tags along. Is that true?"

The white-haired boy, not expecting being dragged into the ongoing conversation, had a look of confused curiosity on his face. "Leni?" Lincoln said, "Yeah, she usually tries to come along with me whenever I go over to Aggro-sensei's place for my Kendo lessons. Why do you ask?"

"Well Lori just told me that she has reason to believe that Leni has a crush on Aggro," Bobby explained, "And that she was asking me about him so she could get some tips for Leni on getting him to like her."

"What?!" Luna and Luan exclaimed in unison, being caught off guard by what Bobby had said about what Lori just told him. Lincoln, although still a bit surprised to hear that one of his older ex-sisters has a new crush, was nowhere near as expressive about it as Luna and Luan just now; the white-haired boy had suspected that Leni has had a crush on his Kendo instructor for quite some time now. The mild bit of surprise that Lincoln did feel came from having his suspicions confirmed just now.

Nodding in confirmation, Bobby said, "Yeah, you guys can ask Lori about it yourselves when you all get home." As Bobby resumed his over the phone conversation with Lori, explaining to her that he was sitting with her siblings that were at the restaurant, Lynn Sr. at that moment just so happened to come walking by.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you guys here," Lunn Sr. remarked upon seeing three of his children, "What's up, kids?"

"Luna and I wanted to show Lincoln the restaurant that you got," Luan explained as she looked up at her dad. Both Luna and Lincoln nodded in the affirmative.

Chuckling a bit in mild amusement, Lynn Sr. said, "Oh yeah, this is Lincoln's first time seeing the restaurant." Focusing on the white-haired boy specifically, Lynn Sr. asked, "So Lincoln, what do you think of the place?"

Lincoln didn't say anything right away; instead, he looked around a bit, taking in the atmosphere and ascetic of the restaurant. He also sniffed a bit, taking in the smells of the restaurant as well. After he had gotten enough of an impression of his ex-father's restaurant, Lincoln turned back to face the man himself. "…I think that anyone who eats here would have a very homey dining experience," Lincoln replied. Although Lincoln spoke in an emotionless monotone, one that he generally uses when addressing Louds who he has yet to reconcile with, he still gave the Loud patriarch a sincere complement on his restaurant.

"You really think so?" Lynn Sr. replied, a bit hopeful that this might be his first step in becoming Lincoln's father again. Before Lincoln could respond, however, Lynn Sr. noticed that not only was Bobby sitting with Lincoln, Luna and Luan, but that the Hispanic teen was on his phone. "Is there a reason why you're talking on your phone, Bobby?" Lynn Sr. asked, "You are supposed to be working, young man."

"I'm actually taking a call during my break, Mr. Loud," Bobby replied, "Kotaro even came up to the podium to relieve me because you were concerned about how I unintentionally worked through a few breaks."

Realizing what Bobby was talking about, Lynn Sr. said, "Ah, so that's it. Yeah, you working through breaks a few times did get my attention. Sorry about trying to bust your chops just now." The Loud siblings that were present were a bit annoyed with how their dad was being hard on Lori's boyfriend just now, but once they saw that it was entirely related to work, their annoyance lessened a bit; their annoyance further dropped when Bobby gave his explanation and Lynn Sr., who was wanting to make sure Bobby remembered to take breaks, apologized appropriately. Lincoln, not being seen by either Luna, Luan, Bobby or Lynn Sr., nodded once in an approving manner to his ex-father.

The Loud patriarch _was_ being professional.

Lynn Sr., figuring that he'd try to make conversation with one of his employees, said, "I'm going to guess that you're talking to my daughter?"

"Yeah, I'm talking to Lori," Bobby confirmed, "She was just telling me about how her sister Leni had gone to the place that my friend Aggro's family owns for lunch and-" Before Bobby or anyone of the Loud siblings at the table could react, Lynn Sr. took Bobby smartphone from him and proceeded to talk to Lori.

"Lori, it's me," Lynn Sr. said in a firm, serious tone, "Is what your boyfriend said about your sister going to the restaurant the Aces own true?" After listening to Lori for a bit, Lynn Sr. said, "Young lady, this is serious. Did Leni seriously go to the Ace's restaurant, yes or no?" After listening to Lori for a bit, Lynn Sr. sighed in an annoyed tone. "I'll be talking to you and your siblings about this later," the Loud patriarch said his tone firm and serious.

Handing Bobby back his smartphone, Lynn Sr. called out, "Hey, Grant! Keep an eye on things here until I get back!"

"Okay, Mr. Loud!" Grant's voice called back from somewhere in the restaurant.

Sighing once again in an annoyed tone, Lynn Sr. muttered to himself as he made his way to the front of his restaurant, "This is just great. Now I have to go and get Leni from those bastards." Before anyone could have stopped him, the Loud patriarch had left the restaurant. Once Lynn Sr. was gone, Luna and Luan turned to face Bobby, shooting him angry looks. Lincoln, who did not understand the full scope of what exactly was going on, had a generous mix of confusion in his angry look that he shot towards the Hispanic teen.

Bobby, with a mildly worried look, said, "Umm, did I mess up just now?"

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Author's note:

In the original, Lynn Sr. did not have his restaurant yet, even though he was working towards it. Here, he _does_ have his restaurant, and because of that, his competitiveness against the restaurant the Aces own is even greater, which should make for even greater conflict later on down the line. Anyway, the beginning of this chapter, which features Lincoln having a dream where he's talking to his Broken Mirror persona even though they are now separate beings is part of what I'm doing to further explore the psychological/mental aspects of Lincoln's experiences in the narrative, which is something that I touched upon nowhere near as much in the original. I plan to further explore Lincoln's development in this regard.

But more on that later. To be honest, this chapter is more or less the first part of a two-part mini arc where Lynn Sr. makes his displeasure with how his restaurant is currently losing to the Ace family's restaurant known; some groundwork has been laid here, but there's going to be some more development in the following chapter. There will also be a bit of follow up on how Bobby kind of dropped the ball near the end, as well as a bit of references to things that the Santiagos end up missing out on since, in this setting, they never moved to Great Lakes City.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-two: Errors Rectified

Lincoln was actually having a fairly nice time with Luna and Luan over at the restaurant that Lynn Sr. owns. In fact, given the homey atmosphere that the Loud patriarch's restaurant gave off, as well as how Lynn Sr. was handing everything professionally and not allowing personal things, such as the relationship between Bobby (who works at Lynn Sr.'s restaurant) and Lori, get in the way of how he treated/disciplined his employees, the white-haired boy had noticed some of the respect that he had for Lynn Sr. before he (Lincoln) ran away was slow starting to come back.

…Then Lynn Sr., upon learning from Bobby, who was talking to Lori on the phone at the time, that Leni had gone to Odin-Dono's Swedish-Japanese Cuisine, the restaurant that the Ace family owns, for lunch, he instantly became annoyed, bitter, possessive, competitive and everything else like that under the rainbow. The Loud patriarch, blinded by the fact that his restaurant (as well as other restaurants in Royal Woods) was losing customers to the Ace's place, stormed out of his restaurant, intent on dragging his fashionable daughter home in order to berate her for supporting the place that his was slowly losing customers to.

Lynn Sr., without even realizing it, had scuttled what little rapport he had built up with Lincoln up to that point. The Loud patriarch had not only gone and shot himself in the foot, but instead of using a smaller gun such as a Sig Sauer 9MM, he instead opted to go for an AK-47, because from what Lincoln could see, his ex-father would be satisfied with nothing less than blasting his own foot off in his attempt to shoot it.

Later in the afternoon, after Lincoln had returned with Luna and Luan, the three of them, as well as all of the other Loud siblings (some acknowledged by Lincoln, some not), were in Lori and Leni's room for a sibling meeting. The atmosphere of that sibling meeting was heavy, partly due to the fact that Leni, who was lying face down on her bed with her face buried in a pillow, was currently crying her eyes out. Lori, with a troubled, resigned sigh, realized that things had to start in this sibling meeting eventually.

"…In my Boo-Boo Bear's defense," Lori began, her tone sounding mildly troubled and guilty, "I literally forgot to tell him about how dad feels about the Aces and how their restaurant is doing way better than his. Bobby would have kept his mouth shut about what I told him over the phone if I had remembered."

Sighing in a resigned tone, Luna remarked, "Bloody hell. A lot of balls were dropped on this one." Turning her attention over to where Leni was crying her eyes out, Luna turned back to face the rest of her siblings and said, "Either way, it's totally bogus how Pops not only practically dragged Leni out of Odin-Dono's, but he also grounded her when they got home. Something like that just really harshes my mellow, you know?"

"Now you guys see why I was afraid of dad finding out about me having lunch over at Odin-Dono's with Ulfirc and his parents a few days ago," Lynn remarked sheepishly, a shy look of worry on her face.

Lincoln nodded in agreement with his athletic older sister; at first the white-haired boy felt more confused than anything else by far when Lynn had asked her siblings not to tell Mr. Loud about her lunch over at Odin-Dono's with Ulfric Aesir, Lynn's new/current crush, and Ulfric's parents. However, upon seeing Mr. Loud not only flip upon hearing that Leni was currently having lunch over at Odin-Dono's at the time but march straight over to drag her home immediately and even ground her upon getting home, Lincoln now understood why his normally brash and proud older sister had been effectively cowed.

Whimpering a bit out of a mix of mild disappointment and being a bit sad, Lola remarked, "To make things worse, dad doesn't want me or Lana to play with Anna anymore, just because her family's restaurant is doing better than his." Scrunching up a bit while hugging her shins close to her chest, the pageant-winning Loud sister said, "I like playing with Anna."

Nodding in understanding with her younger sister, Lucy said, "Dad has also forbade me from hanging out with Argent. Although I don't see how much dad can do if both Argent and I are over at Rocky's place, since he usually has both of us over at the same time."

"UHHG!" Lori exclaimed, her tone clearly denoting the frustration she was feeling, that all of her sisters were feeling, "This is literally bogus! I can't believe that dad is trying to completely control where we go and who our friends are, just because of the competition between all of the restaurants here in Royal Woods! We are literally our own people, for crying out loud, so what gives him the right to-" Lori stopped short midsentence when she, as well as the other Loud girls, all saw Lincoln get up off of the floor. "…Umm, Lincoln," the oldest Loud girl began, confusion and a hint of mild concern in her tone, "Where are you going?"

"…I'm going to grab Starlit Sky from my bedroom," the white-haired boy remarked, the coolness of his tone masking a brewing storm, "And then I'm going to head on over to Aggro-sensei's place for some Kendo practice with him. The atmosphere here is getting just a little too heavy for my tastes."

Hearing their brother just say that he was planning to head on over to a place that their father had essentially just declare off limits to them made all of the Loud sisters (aside from Leni who still had her face buried in a pillow as she was still crying her eyes out) go wide-eyed with shock, as well as a mix of surprise and worry. As soon as the white-haired boy left Lori and Leni's room, the Loud sisters (that were NOT crying their eyes out) got up and ran to the doorway, just in time to see their brother enter his room at the far end of the hallway.

A few moments later, Lincoln emerged, a backpack slung over his back and his bokken carrying case held in his right hand. Seeing his sisters and some of his ex-sisters in the doorway of Lori and Leni's bedroom, the white-haired boy gave them a single nod of acknowledgement before he turned to go down the stairs. The girls, still worried, proceeded to follow after Lincoln, only for them to stop at the top of the staircase when, looking down to the ground floor, they saw Lincoln was being held up by Lynn Sr., who decided to take the rest of the day off because he felt that he had to 'discipline' at least one of his children.

"Where are you off to, Lincoln?" the Loud patriarch said to Lincoln, sounding more like he was demanding rather than asking.

"I'm going to Aggro-sensei's place to spar with him in Kendo," Lincoln replied in a cool, indifferent tone, speaking as if what he just said was the most obvious thing in the world.

Lynn Sr., with his left hand on his hip, pointed at Lincoln and said in a firm, declaring manner, "You are not allowed to go over that place anymore, young man. You are also going to stop having those martial arts lessons, and you are not allowed to associate with anyone from that family. Do I make myself clear?" Saying nothing while giving the Loud patriarch a monotonous, emotionless stare, the white-haired boy simply walked around him to continue on his trip over to the Ace residence.

"Did you not hear me, young man?" Lynn Sr. nearly exclaimed as he saw Lincoln blatantly defy him, "Those people are trying to ruin us, and I will not just stand by while any of my children tries associating with them!" The Loud patriarch caught up to Lincoln and grasped his left shoulder to try and keep him from leaving, but all this did was prompt Lincoln to spin around and look up at him with an angry, serious look in his eyes.

"WELL THEN IT'S A GOOD THING THAT I'M NOT YOUR CHILD, MR. LOUD!" Lincoln shouted as he smacked his ex-father's hand away, catching Lynn Sr. off guard. The Loud patriarch was not the only one who was surprised by the white-haired boy's shout; the Loud sisters that were at the top of the stairs had also heard their brother's shout, and more than one of them feared that their only brother might try to leave home again.

The Louds that were at the house, both acknowledged by Lincoln and those not, were all too shocked to do anything as Lincoln turned back around and walked out the door, slamming it as he left. The noise made by the door slamming was the only noise heard at the Loud residence for the next few moment.

Although all of those who were present were shocked, none were more shocked that Lynn Sr. himself, as he was at the epicenter. Turning around, the Loud patriarch saw all of his daughters, save for Leni, standing at the top of the stairs. The looks that they were giving him were a mix of disgust, disappointment, and a little bit of sadness and even some fear. None of the girls said even one word as they turned to walk away to their rooms, leaving Lynn Sr. alone to reflect on the consequences that his actions had just wrought.

* * *

Later, Lincoln arrived over at the Ace residence. Walking up to the front door, the white-haired boy knocked on it a few times. Within a few brief moments, the door was answered by Aggro, the very teen that Lincoln was hoping to find. "Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Lincoln-kun," the male Ace twin remarked, a bit of surprise in his tone, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Would it be okay if I practiced some Kendo with you?" Lincoln asked, "I needed to get out of my family's house for a bit." Aggro was able to pick up a hint of annoyance in the white-haired boy's tone, a sign that something had made him upset.

Out of a mix of humoring his Kendo pupil's request, a desire to do some Kendo kata anyway and a good dash of concern for Lincoln's curious behavior, Aggro stepped to the side and gestured for Lincoln to enter, an invitation that was graciously accepted. "I'm sorry if this is so sudden," Lincoln apologized as he entered the Ace residence, "But I just had to get out of the house where my family lives for a bit."

The male Ace twin, both understanding the need to occasionally step out for some fresh air and understanding, at least to some extent, the current situation the white-haired boy was going through, gave a single nod. "…Would I be accurate in assuming that at least one of your sisters is being a bit more suffocating towards you?" Aggro asked as he closed the front door behind Lincoln and himself.

Turning around, Lincoln looked up to face his Kendo instructor. Gently shaking his head a bit in the negative, Lincoln replied, "It is not any of the girls, Aggro-sensei." With a hint of annoyance in his tone, the white-haired boy added while making the appropriate finger quotes, "Rather, it's actually my 'dad', if you can call him that."

"Your father's done something to upset you, Lincoln-kun?" Aggro asked, a bit taken back by the surprising bitterness Lincoln had in his tone towards the Loud patriarch.

Sighing in a resigned tone, Lincoln said, "It's a long story, Aggro-sensei…"

* * *

After a few minutes were spent between the white-haired boy and the male Ace twin, with the former doing most of the talking, Lincoln said as he finished up his story, "…After I shouted at him, I turned around and left without another word."

Aggro, taking the time to absorb everything Lincoln was telling him, could not hide his surprise and shock with everything that had apparently transpired under the Loud family's roof over the last couple of days. "…Allow me to see if I have everything accurate, Lincoln-kun," Aggro began, a hint of firm disappointment in his tone, "Your father's restaurant, similar to the other dining establishments in Royal Woods such as Bangers and Mosh and the fusion places that isn't the place my family owns, is currently losing business to my family's place, and because of that he's trying to forbid you and your sisters from associating with me or any of my siblings, to the point that he dragged your sister Leni away when she was having lunch at Odin-Dono's."

Lincoln nodded in the affirmative before Aggro continued. "Furthermore," the male Ace twin went on, the hint of firm disappointment in his tone slowly but steadily growing, "You father immediately grounded Leni upon getting her home, and similarly has the rest of your sisters feeling a mix of terrified, upset and frustrated." Once again, the white-haired boy confirmed his Kendo instructor's musings.

Aggro then let out a sigh, one that showed that all of the firm disappointment in his tone was being replaced with one that sounded with genuine surprise. "And that part about Leni having feelings for me," Aggro said, sounding like he was flattered, "Are you sure that's true?"

"I first heard it from Bobby, who was talking on the phone with Lori who told him about how she suspected that Leni has a crush on you," Lincoln explained, "But after I got home, I talked to Lori about it. I was able to straight up confirm that Leni actually does like you, Aggro-sensei."

Letting out a breath, the male Ace twin remarked, "That would certainly explain why she wanted to come over on all of those occasions to watch me tutor you in Kendo." Looking to Lincoln, Aggro remarked with a hint of embarrassment in his tone, "I'm actually rather surprised that any girl would have romantic feelings for me, given that I am, admittedly, somewhat distant from the female populace in my age group."

Looking up at Aggro, the white-haired boy said, "From what I heard from Bobby, there are loads of girls at the high school who are all over wanting to go out with you."

"Yes, but those are all example of what can best be described as school girl crushes," Aggro said, "Like a pink-haired kunoichi having a crush on a raven-haired boy." Folding his arms over his chest, Aggro continued, "Your sister is the first girl who bothered going through such lengths to try and get me to notice her. And yet I was so blind to it, I had no idea about it until you had told me just now."

"So Aggro-sensei," Lincoln began, "What do you want to do?"

The male Ace twin let out a breath as he contemplated what he had been told, as well as a number of related factors. After about a minute or so of deliberation, he said, "Like I had said previously, Leni is the first girl to like me to go through noticeable efforts to try and get my attention. It certainly helps that Kyubi is fond of your sister whenever she comes over, since whenever I notice Kyubi showing open hostility to someone, I eventually find some legitimate reason to not trust that person period." As Aggro and Lincoln spoke, Kyubi, the young adult fox that Aggro keeps as a pet, walked up to Lincoln and slowly rubbed the side of her body against his shins, getting him to see her. With a bit of an amused smile, the white-haired boy bent over to gently scratch the vixen behind her ears.

"Now normally," Aggro began, getting Lincoln to look back up at him, "I would be interested in at least giving the idea of such a relationship with your sister a try." Letting out a mildly troubled sigh, Aggro continued, "But given your father's feelings at the moment, as well as some of the actions he has taken, I do not think that I can get away with having such a relationship with your sister. Not without invoking your father's fury."

"That's reasonable," Lincoln replied, his tone a mix of resignation and dryness, as well as a dash of further disappointment aimed at the Loud patriarch. Lincoln was about to say something else, but he was cut off when there was a knock at the Ace's front door.

Gesturing for Lincoln to wait for a bit, Aggro said, "Hold that thought, Lincoln-kun." The male Ace twin walked over to the front door to answer it; when he did, he came face-to-face with a fairly distraught-looking Lori.

"Aggro, have you seen my younger brother?" the oldest Loud sister asked, looking as if she were about to break down at any given moment, "He ran off after shouting at our dad for literally being full of himself, and every time me or any of my sisters or our mom tries to call him, it goes straight to his voicemail, so we can't get ahold of him. The last thing he said before storming off was something about coming over here to see you, so I was literally hoping you might have seen him recently."

Letting out a mild sigh, Aggro said, "Yeah, I know all about how your father's been acting as of late due to the current competition between the various restaurants in Royal Woods. Lincoln-kun is here, and he told me all about-" The male Ace twin was cut off, as well as letting out a yelp of surprise, when Lori shoved him to the side, ran straight inside, spotted Lincoln standing there, and immediately grabbed him into a (somewhat) crushing hug.

* * *

"…So you turned your phone off because you were literally not in any mood to hear anything from dad," Lori said a few minutes later, when she, Lincoln and Aggro sat at the Ace family's dining table. Leaning back a bit, the oldest Loud sister remarked, "That would certainly explain why none of us were able to get ahold of you after you had stormed off. We were afraid that you were literally going to run away again."

Gently shaking his head in the negative, the white-haired boy replied, "Oh no, Lori. I have no intention to try doing that one again." Giving his older ex-sister a knowing look, he added, "Unless, of course, that another stunt similar to the one that compelled me to run away the last time is pulled again."

"We are literally never going to do anything that asinine to you again," Lori said firmly. With a hint of a threatening entering her tone, Lori continued, "And if any of the girls try something like that anyway, I will personally-"

"I think that it's safe to say," Aggro said with a bit of hastiness in his tone, cutting off the oldest Loud sister before she could finish, "That you and all of your sisters are united in making sure that Lincoln-kun is never, even unknowingly, horribly mistreated ever again."

After considering the male Ace twin for a bit, Lori let out a mild sigh before she gave a single, agreeing nod. After a few seconds passed without any speaking, Aggro said, "Lori." When the oldest Loud sister looked at him, Aggro continued, "Your brother had informed me that your sister Leni might have romantic feelings for me, according to what you say. Is this accurate?"

Nodding only once, Lori said, "Yes, Aggro. It's true." Lori spoke with a hint of resigned defeat in her tone, showing how exhausted she was after everything that had transpired in the day. "Leni literally loves you, same as how I literally love my Boo-Boo Bear," Lori continued, then added when giving Aggro a knowing look, "How else would you explain all of the times Leni came along to watch you tutor Lincoln in Kendo?"

"I just assumed that one of your parents wanted to send one of Lincoln-kun's older siblings along to keep an eye on things for them," Aggro admitted with a shrug, "I had no idea that your sister actually liked me to such an extent."

Lori let out another sigh, only this time a bit of amusement was mixed into it. "Well it's literally the truth, Aggro," Lori began, "Leni-" A ringtone went off suddenly, cutting Lori off. Realizing that it was coming from her phone, Lori fished her phone out, saw that it was Luna who was calling her, then answered the call. "Hey, Luna," Lori said, "Yes, I found Lincoln. He went over to the Ace's place, just like he said." After listening to Luna for a bit, Lori said, "No, he turned his phone off because he literally wasn't in the mood to talk to dad. I'm pretty sure Lincoln still is in no mood to talk to him." Looking over to Lincoln, the oldest Loud sister saw him nod a few times in the affirmative.

"Yeah, I just saw him confirm that he doesn't want to speak with dad," Lori said, "Given how literally stupid dad's been acting as of late, I don't think any of us can blame Lincoln." After a bit more listening to the other end, Lori said, "Wait a minute, hold on." Looking to Lincoln, Lori asked, "Lincoln, you are going to come home, right?"

"Not until the old man gets his act together," Lincoln began to reply, his tone suggesting that he would be hearing no argument, "Stops trying to force his ways onto the rest of us, and lets us hang out with our friends." After a bit of consideration, Lincoln added, "Oh, he also has to lift Leni's grounding and not restrict her from dating Aggro-sensei." The last request slash demand that the white-haired boy made prompted Aggro to arch an eyebrow out of mild surprise.

Nodding a few time in agreement, Lori said to her younger brother, "Those are literally all reasonable requests." Going back to her call, Lori said over the phone to Luna, "Yeah, Lincoln says that dad literally has to get his act together before he'll return." After listening to Luna a bit, Lori let out a laugh. "Yeah," the oldest Loud sister remarked in agreement, "Dad is literally one of those. Anyway, I'm going to be heading back now."

After Lori ended her call and put her smartphone away, Aggro remarked, "I believe that I ought to provide you with my number, so that you can call me when your father comes to his senses." Shooting a quick look of knowing understanding to Lincoln, Aggro continued when he turned his attention back to Lori, "I believe that Lincoln won't be all that available for contact until after this whole mess is dealt with." Lori nodded once in appreciation and Aggro got a scrap of paper and quickly wrote his phone number on it.

After receiving Aggro's number, Lori nodded once in t hanks before she got up and took her leave. Once the oldest Loud sister was gone, Aggro turned to regard Lincoln, giving him a knowing look. "…I believe that, due to everything that occurred after you arrived here," Aggro began, "That we never got the chance to have that spar. If you still wish to do so, I believe that we have at least a few minutes." Lincoln could not help but let out a bit of a laugh, finding some amusement in being reminded of why he came to the Ace residence to get away from Mr. Loud in the first place.

* * *

The male Ace twin's guess of 'at least a few minutes' turned out to have been underestimating things a bit; he and Lincoln spent close to forty-five minutes, practicing Kendo kata and sparring with each other while using shinai, before Aggro's phone, which he left on a lawn chair in his family's backyard where he and Lincoln were practicing, went off. Calling the sparring to a halt, Aggro went over and answered the call.

Hearing Lori on the other end saying that her mother Rita, who got home a few minutes ago, was told what happened and tore Lynn Sr. a new one, was able to greatly speed up the process of making the Loud patriarch clean his act up, Aggro let out a bit of amused laughter. "I'll tell him the good news, then," Aggro said before he ended the call. Setting the phone back down where he had laid it, Aggro turned to face Lincoln and said, "It appears that your father, thanks in no small part to your mother, has realized his errors and rectified them."

Lincoln let out a bit of a scoff, one aimed at the Loud patriarch, and filled with nothing but annoyance towards him. "…About time that he pulled his head out of his rear," the white-haired boy said. Giving Aggro a respectful bow, Lincoln continued, "Thanks again for putting up with me, Aggro-sensei."

"Give your folks my regards, alright?" Aggro said as he waved at the departing Lincoln. A single nod from Lincoln understood the request from the male Ace twin. Before Lincoln left the Ace family's backyard, Aggro called out, "Wait a minute, Lincoln-kun." Curious, Lincoln decided to turn back around, thus seeing his sensei with a mildly embarrassed look on his face. "Can…can you tell your sister Leni I'm sorry about what she went through?" Aggro asked.

Lincoln only smiled, but it was a smile that confirmed Lincoln would honor Aggro's request.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Author's note:

Originally, this chapter ended up diverting in a completely different direction once Lincoln had reached the Ace residence. It was only after a base read-through that I realized such a diversion might not sit so well with a number of people, so I rewrote at least half of the chapter, more than likely a little over half of it. Here's hoping the changes fit better for this chapter. Anyway, the next chapter will be seeing some impacts that the Santiagos not moving to Great Lakes City will have. Lincoln might also reconcile with another ex-family member.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-three: Seeing things halfway

To say that the day that Lincoln, a white-haired boy living in Royal Woods, Michigan, had a full day would be a bit of an understatement. It started with two of the Loud sisters that Lincoln had reconciled with, Luna and Luan, inviting him to go check out the restaurant that Lynn Sr., who Lincoln had NOT yet reconciled with, got up and running during the time in which Lincoln was living in Great Lakes City as a (murderous vigilante) runaway.

Everything went downhill shortly after Lincoln and his two sisters arrived at the Loud patriarch's restaurant when Bobby, who got a job at the restaurant, unknowingly let it slip to Lynn Sr. that Leni, one of the loud girls Lincoln hasn't yet reconciled with, was eating lunch at Odin-Dono's, a Swedish and Japanese fusion restaurant that the Ace family owns. Given that not only is Odin-Dono's currently the leading restaurant in Royal Woods and that other restaurants, including the one Lynn Sr. owns, in Royal Woods is losing some business to it, the Loud patriarch's anger at hearing where Leni was at was understandable.

…Wait a minute, what the fuck am I saying? Of course it's not understandable. It never was.

Lynn Sr. went right over to Odin-Dono's, dragged Leni home, grounded her, and likewise told all of his children that they are to cease associating with the Aces. Seeing as how he wasn't one of Mr. Loud's children, Lincoln decided to go over to the Ace's residence to spar with Aggro, the seventeen-year-old Ace brother and the Kendo tutor of the white-haired boy, for a bit. When Lynn Sr. tried to keep Lincoln from leaving to the Ace's residence anyway, he blew up at the Loud patriarch in a manner that made the sisters all fear that their only brother might consider the idea of running way again.

Thankfully, Lincoln had no such intention of running away. True to his word, he was found over at the Ace family residence when Lori came by, shortly after Lincoln himself arrived and was in the middle of a conversation with Aggro. The male Ace twin had been given more details on the whole unfortunate mess that was Lynn Sr. being a worse father than Endeavor. Aggro was also surprised to hear that Leni, the second-oldest Loud sister, had something of a crush on him, with that being the reason why she tried coming over so often with Lincoln whenever the white-haired boy had his Kendo lessons with Aggro.

Lincoln, despite what many of the Loud sisters feared, actually returned home a few hours after he had blown up at the Loud family patriarch. However, Lincoln first required that Lynn Sr. had to do a number of things to 'clean up his act', as it were; Rita, the Loud family matriarch, when she was provided a rundown on everything her significant other had done, contributed no small amount of effort into making Lynn Sr. straighten up and fly right. When the call informing about Lynn Sr. behaving himself had reached the Ace residence, Lincoln decided that he would be able to go back to the Loud residence.

Even though Lynn Sr. had fixed all of his errors that he made in the day, the white-haired boy was still not in any mood to hang near him, or most of the rest of the Louds, for that matter. In fact, Lincoln ended up skipping dinner, something he assured the Loud sisters that came up to check on him (Luna, Lola and Lucy, in that order) was in no way their fault, or the fault of any of the other Loud girls. Lincoln ended up falling asleep, so when he woke up at close to midnight (not due to any nightmares, I assure you), he saw that he was still wearing what he had on when he went to the Ace's residence earlier.

When he had awoken at that late hour, Lincoln felt the effects of his deciding to skip dinner. Figuring that everyone else in the house would be asleep, the white-haired boy got up out of bed, left his room, and made his way to the ground floor, with the intent of heading into the kitchen to grab something to eat. When he went through the living room, Lincoln saw that Lynn Sr. was laying on the sofa, fast asleep; this was clearly some additional punishment of some kind that the Loud patriarch was given by his wife. The white-haired boy, despite being the only other male that was in residence at the moment, was finding it rather difficult to have any sympathy for the Loud family patriarch.

Making sure to keep quiet, Lincoln snuck into the kitchen. He wasn't hungry enough to eat a meal's worth of food; a single, moderate snack would be sufficient to satiate him. Going to the cabinet, Lincoln found a box that contained a few individually wrapped snack cakes, these being those brownies with a very thin layer of chocolate icing on top, and with small bits of colored candy in the icing. He grabbed the box, weighing it a bit to determine if there were any left, and grabbed one when he saw, to his mild amusement, that there was at least one.

The white-haired boy was about to unwrap his snack cake when he stopped short, having noticed that the patio light was on. Curious, Lincoln decided to hold off on unwrapping his snack cake so he could go see what was going on outside that required the patio light to be on. To his surprise, Lincoln found Leni, his ditzy ex-sister who arguably was the Loud sister, forgiven or otherwise, that went through the most today, sitting on the patio, looking up into the night sky. The fashionable Loud sister was so fixated on looking up into the night sky that she had failed to notice Lincoln having come out.

"Hey Leni," Lincoln greeted, making Leni jump a bit in the process.

"Oh!" Leni said upon turning to see her little brother standing there, "Hey, Linky! What are you doing up?"

Giving Leni a wry look that was a mix of mild amusement and curiosity, Lincoln replied in a casual tone, "That's something that I should be asking you." Turning to look up into the night sky, Lincoln remarked, "I can see why you'd think night skies like this are so beautiful."

"Excuse me?" Leni asked, mildly confused.

"You were the one who gave me the idea for the name I gave to the bokken that Aggro-sensei gave me," Lincoln pointed out while gesturing to the night sky above, "Remember? I ended up naming my bokken Starlit Sky because the night Aggro-sensei gave me my bokken, you looked up into the sky and said how the starlit sky looked beautiful."

The ditzy fashionista nodded in remembrance. "Oh yeah," Leni replied, "Aggro was the one who gave you your fancy wooden sword." Turning to look back into the nighttime sky herself, Leni continued, "Aggro, he…he sure is something, don't you think, Linky?"

The white-haired boy gave a mildly amused 'hmm'. Rolling his shoulders a bit, Lincoln said, "Well I do feel like he's sort of like a big brother to me, similar to how Bobby and I get along. But as far as what you want, you're the one who is going to have to put in the effort to reach that goal, Leni."

"Linky…" Leni said as she turned her head back down and to the side away from Lincoln, sounding a bit upset in a manner that suggested that she wasn't all that confident in herself. The change in his older ex-sister's tone did not escape Lincoln.

"Leni," Lincoln began as she sat down next to his older ex-sister, clearly sounding concerned for how she was feeling, "Are you alright?"

"Linky, I…" Leni began in same tone she was still using, "…I'm not sure if I'm going to, like, be able to get Aggro to like me." Lincoln said nothing, but he was starting to catch onto what his older ex-sister was getting at, starting to understand how exactly she was feeling at the moment. "I mean, look at what happened when I went to the party Chaz had a while ago," Leni said as she started to go on a bit of a tangent, "I lost the first crush that I had! Who's to say that the same, like, won't happen with my second crush?" Starting to tear up, Leni said, "I bet that if it wasn't for the fact that I have a stupid brain that was broken, then none-"

*SLAP*

Everything came to a screeching halt when, to the fashionable Loud sister's surprise, Lincoln had slapped her across the face. It was nothing that the ditzy Loud sibling ever expected out of little Linky, especially so out of the blue like that. However, things started to catch up to Leni when Lincoln put his hands on her shoulders, getting her to focus solely on him.

"Your brain is _not_ _broken_, Leni," Lincoln said firmly, putting a good bit of emphasis on the 'not broken' part, "It never has been, and it never will be. You have _got_ to stop thinking that." Seeing that Leni still looking rather upset with herself a little upset, Lincoln decided to try out another approach when it came to lifting her spirits. "Leni," the white-haired boy began, with a hint of gentleness seeping into his tone, "If your brain really was broken, then would you know as much about fashion as you currently know right now?"

Leni gently shook her head in the negative, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes, as she slowly replied, "…No…"

"And would you also know how to prepare salmon, which is not something that any person just starting out in cooking can do?" Lincoln went on.

"…No…" Leni said once more as teas started to fall down the sides of her face.

"And would you also know how to pick a lock with nothing more than a hairpin?" Lincoln continued, "Or be able to craft an amazingly detailed bedframe? Or being able to trick the owner of a car lot into letting you use one of the cars so you could do a mall run? Or how about having such immaculate penmanship that you're able to write your own name in the grass using the riding lawnmower?"

"I had Lori helping me with tricking the guy into letting me use one of his cars to make a mall run," Leni pointed out in her current self-disappointed tone. Looking down to the floor of the patio with a look of shame, the fashionable Loud sister continued, "And when I spelled my name in the grass, I misspelled it."

Lincoln gently shook his head in response to Leni self-deprecating herself. "That doesn't mean anything," Lincoln retorted, "You did just as much as Lori did when tricking the car lot owner, and the fact that you can write letters in the grass with a riding lawnmower so well is nothing short of impressive." Sighing, the white-haired boy said in a sympathetic tone, "Leni, why do you have so little faith in yourself? Especially when the rest of us have so much faith in you?" Giving Leni a gentle smile as he got her to look up at him, Lincoln said, "You are much better than you think you are. Don't go forgetting that."

"Linky…" Leni said in a touched tone as she gently threw her arms around Lincoln and drew him into a hug. For his part, Lincoln simply gave Leni a gentle pat on her back as she began to cry softly into his left shoulder. They stayed like that for at least a few minutes until Lincoln, remembering that he still held an unopened snack cake, got Leni to let him go. Lincoln and Leni sat on the patio like that for a bit, the white-haired boy continuing to provide comfort and support to the ditzy Loud girl, up until Leni had more or less cried herself out. Once she had calmed back down, Lincoln led Leni back into the house.

Closing and locking the patio door behind them, Lincoln then led Leni up the stairs and over to her and Lori's room. "You try to get some sleep, okay?" Lincoln said, drawing a humble nod in the affirmative from his ditzy ex-sister. "Okay then," Lincoln replied, "Good night, Leni."

"Good night, Linky," Leni said before she headed into her room, closing the door behind her. Seeing as how he needed to get back to bed himself, Lincoln decided to head on over to his bedroom, crawl back into bed, and go back to sleep.

* * *

The following day, the three oldest Loud girls made a run to Royal Woods Mall. In a turn that surprised the three of them, Lincoln had asked to accompany them. As it turned out, all of the white-haired boy's friends were busy, and he had nothing going on; Lincoln hoped that by going to the mall, he would be able to burn some time. As the four Loud siblings walked around the mall, they spotted a memorabilia and fashion store that they decided to check out.

While Lori, Leni and Luna were each checking out different areas of the store, Lincoln was browsing a shelf that some accessories related to a popular anime. As Lincoln looked at the merchandise, he heard a somewhat familiar male voice call out, "Hey, you're that white-haired kid from the kendo tournament!" Confused, Lincoln looked over and, to his surprise, he saw Francisco come walking up to him.

He wasn't worried about his athletic sister's former crush, but Lincoln was still on his guard around the thirteen-year-old boy. "…What do you want?" Lincoln asked, his tone bitter with a dash of suspicious.

"Look, here's the deal," Francisco began, sounding like he was going to be completely honest, "I was in no way trying to cheat during the Kendo tournament where the two of us faced each other in the final round, alright?"

"…Really," Lincoln retorted, sounding like Francisco was trying to feed him some manner of fantastical tale made mostly of bullshit.

Sighing in a mildly frustrated tone, Francisco stressed, "I'm being serious here. I was not trying to cheat. Someone must have switched my shinai out while I wasn't looking for the one that got me disqualified when I faced you."

"Pfft, yeah right," Lincoln said, his tone unchanging, "Like you seriously expect me to fall for a spiel like that." Giving Lynn's former crush a firm, serious look, Lincoln said, "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"I am telling you the truth," Francisco reiterated firmly, "I wasn't trying to cheat."

"I've had enough of this," Lincoln swore as he turned around, proceeding to walk away from the thirteen-year-old boy. However, in a brief flash of anger, Francisco grabbed Lincoln's left shoulder, forcefully turned him around, and then grabbed Lincoln by both shoulders. No one had ever been as forceful as this with Lincoln since before he ran away had had that extended stay over in Great Lakes City. The white-haired boy actually found himself admiring the cojones that Francisco was displaying right now.

"You are not leaving," Francisco replied, trying to leave the white-haired boy without any other options, "Not until you've heard me out and agree with me, at least." However, unbeknownst to Francisco, Lincoln actually had other options. He could do what he did to get multiple people that he ran into so far to back off (glare murderously at the person while exuding his Killing Intent), but that would most likely end with the thirteen-year-old boy crapping and/or pissing himself out of sheer fright in the middle of the mall store that they were in, and that was not a smell that he wanted to deal with. Lincoln could also bust out some of the unarmed fighting skills that he had cultivated on his own back when he still lived alone in Great Lakes City.

"Hey!" Leni said upon seeing her little brother being bothered by a kid that was both slightly older and slightly bigger than him, interrupting Lincoln's thinking in the process. "What do you think you're doing with Linky?" the ditzy Loud sister continued as she proceeded to make her way over to where Lincoln and Francisco were. Upon seeing someone responsible for the kid he was admittedly being forceful with coming his way, the thirteen-year-old boy let go of Lincoln right there and then before turning tail and running away.

"Linky, are you okay?" Leni asked as she got down on one knee to be at Lincoln's level so she could give him a quick look-over.

"A bit rattled," the white-haired boy lied, the casualness of his tone masking the fact that he was lying quite well, "But otherwise I'm fine. Thanks for the save, Leni. I thought that I might have gotten into some serious trouble back there."

"No one's going to hurt you so long as I have anything to say about it," Leni said in a determined tone as she got back up, "Come on, we have to totes meet back up with Lori and Luna." Lincoln said nothing, instead only giving Leni an obedient nod as he followed her over to where Lori and Luna were still browsing some of the merchandise that store in the mall had to offer.

* * *

After the four Louds were done with their business at the mall, they left and could then be seen heading towards Vanzilla in the Royal Woods Mall parking lot. "Did you recognize who the kid that tried to harass you?" Lori asked Lincoln as he and Leni told Lori and Luna about what had happened back in the one store.

To say that the white-haired boy held any measure of sympathy for the thirteen-year-old boy would be a complete and total lie. Nodding once in the affirmative, Lincoln said as he looked up at his older ex-sister, "It was Francisco, the guy that I faced in the last round of the first Kendo tournament I took part in." Seeing the growing look of surprised shock on the faces of the three oldest Loud girls, Lincoln said with a wry look, "I believe you know who I'm talking about."

"That little turd?!" Luna practically exclaimed, "It was bogus enough that he had to go and rip Lynn's heart out, throw it to the ground as hard as he could, then grind it into the ground under the heel of one of his feet. But now he had the nerve to go and harass you in one of the stores in the mall?!" Pounding a fist into her hand, the musically inclined Loud sister growled in a rather threatening tone, "If Lynn doesn't get to that fucking little shit first, then my Gibson is going to be introduced to his neck."

Putting a hand on her younger sister's right shoulder to get her to calm down, Lori said when Luna focused on her, "As justified as that sounds, none of us will be going after that little twerp. We will inform the right authorities about what Francisco tried to do, then let them take things from there." With a roll of her shoulders, Lori said, "Anyway, Luna, come on. You, me, Leni and Lincoln all literally have to get going."

"Oh, speaking of Linky," Leni said as she turned around, prompting the group as a whole to stop in their tracks, "I found something I bet he'll totes love!" Reaching into one of the shopping bags she was carrying, Leni fished around for a bit before she pulled out a small black rectangular box that had a clear plastic circle showing what was inside; a gold ring with some sort of elaborate writing along the edge, and the ring was on a silver chain. "It's a replica of that magic ring from those movies that Linky and his friends like so much," Leni explained to the group as a whole as she handed the gift to Lincoln, "And he does need to accessorize more."

"Oh yeah," Lori began to remark, "Lincoln likes watching those movies." With a sideways glance, Lori added, "I'd be lying if I didn't admit to liking those movies myself."

Looking at the fantasy movie-related accessory his older sister got him, the white-haired boy was surprised. Lincoln actually sort-of always wanted a real-life version of this ring, minus all of the evil powers that it had, of course. And now, thanks to Leni, he got such a ring. "Wow, Leni," Lincoln said at length, "Thanks. This…this is actually rather surprising." Looking back up to Leni, Lincoln said, "I'll, umm, try getting this out of the box later. Until then, can you put it back into the bag that you got it out of? I don't have a bag myself that I can carry it in."

Nodding in an understanding manner, Leni replied as she received the box back from Lincoln, "Sure thing, Linky." Leni then put the small box back into the bag that she got it out of. Once that was done, the girls and Lincoln went back to heading over to Vanzilla so that they can leave the mall and head back to their family's residence.

* * *

To say that things were boring at the Loud residence when Lincoln and the three oldest Loud sisters returned from their trip to the mall would be, similar to a previous statement, a complete and total lie. Lori, Leni and Luna wasted no time in telling the rest of the Loud girls about the encounter that Lincoln had in one of the stores that they went to, and who it was that the white-haired boy had encountered. Lori actually had to physically restrain Lynn, who suddenly said that she had to get up and go retrieve one of her hockey sticks.

A plan of action was formed, and once the first part was carried out, the Loud sisters felt satisfied that Francisco would be dealt with in a swift, decisive and responsible manner. Well, most of the Loud girls felt satisfied; Lynn still had a desire to go and get that hockey stick of hers. And Luna was still feeling like giving Francisco a very up close and personal look at her electric guitar. But still, such actions were kept back, with Lori leading the helm on reigning things in.

Things eventually settled down, and the Loud girls and Lincoln eventually milled about the place, going off to do whatever it was that they wanted to do. For Lori and Leni's parts, they both stayed in their room, laying on their respective beds, with Lori using her smartphone while Leni was flipping through some manner of magazine. Their reprieve was interrupted by a gentle knocking at their door, to which Lori called out for whoever it was to enter. As such, Lincoln opened the door to greet his older ex-sisters, wearing the silver chain necklace with the gold ring that Leni had gotten him around his neck.

"Aww, you're wearing the thing that I got for you!" Leni said upon noticing what her little brother was wearing around his neck.

Nodding once in an appreciative manner, Lincoln said, "Yeah, and that's actually part of the reason why I came here. I wanted to say thanks again for getting me this, not to mention the fact that it was you who got Francisco to back off back at the mall."

"Well it wasn't like I was going to, like, let that little creep get away with doing anything to you," the fashionable Loud sister replied, sounding more sure of herself than she did when she had her heart-to-heart talk with Lincoln the previous night on the patio in the backyard.

The white-haired boy nodded in agreement with what Leni said; any older sibling, after all, would not simply stand by while they see one of their younger siblings being harassed by some random harasser. "Well this has been a nice talk, sis," Lincoln said, "But I did promise Lola that I would help her with some routine she wants to try out at the next pageant she enters." Turning around, Lincoln said as he waved a hand, "See you later."

"See you later, Linky," Leni replied as Lincoln took his leave, closing the door behind him. After Lincoln was gone, Leni said as she went back to reading her magazine, "He really is such a sweet kid, don't you think, Lori?" As she turned a page in the magazine that she was reading, the fashionable loud sister noticed that Lori had a look of mildly shocked surprise on her face. Lowering her magazine back down a bit as she turned her head to face Lori, Leni said in a mildly confused tone, "…Lori? Are you, like, okay?"

"Did you literally not hear what Lincoln just called you?" Lori replied.

…

After having left Lori and Leni's room, Lincoln was heading straight for the dining room, where Lola was setting up her thing for the pageant practice she wanted to do. However, just as he was about to reach the stairs, Lincoln stopped when he heard one of the bedroom doors behind him open suddenly. About one second later, Leni came running up to Lincoln and picked him up into another hug, spinning around in place while laughing out of relief. As he was being spun around and hugged, Lincoln's expression morphed into a deadpan one.

But one that had a small smile, one that was knowing and mildly amused.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Author's note:

Aaaaaaannnnd there we go. Everyone's favorite white-haired eleven-year-old boy has reconciled with six out of twelve of the people who had screwed him over big time. And hey, it only took twenty-three chapters to reach that point! I think that's really good progress! …All joking aside, this really is a significant point in Lincoln's efforts. There's no way of telling at this point how long it will take for Lincoln to reconcile with the whole of the Louds.

However, I do have a few things in mind for some of them. I still have to do the chapter where Lily's feelings on the ongoing matter are explored (that's something that I've been wanting to do), as well as what to do for when Lana attempts to rebuild the bridge between her and her older brother, a task that I believe will be tougher than the tomboyish twin will think, given how things have turned out here thus far.

So yeah, this story will be going on for quite some time, especially since I'm not done exploring the inner workings of Lincoln's mind in depth since he came back from his extended stay over in Great Lakes City. Not only is there that to deal with, but there's a certain red-haired boy that we are all very much familiar with, and he still has a few adventures to go through before I can draw things to a close here. So with that being said, I'll be seeing you all next time.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-four: The Chandler tales, part four

Chandler McCann, alongside his friends Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie, were all sitting on the floor in the living room of a notably well-furnished estate. The fireplace had a roaring fire going, the bookshelves were lined with numerous, classic-looking books, and there was even a red parlour chair, which Chandler and his friends were sitting in front of. There was a matching foot rest in front of the chair, and a table to the right (if you're sitting in the chair). Who it was that was sitting in the parlour chair, however, would take one by surprise.

It was a large raven, at least as big as a grown human man. The whole of it was black, save for its red, piercing eyes. It wore a red robe that was drawn closed, so only the raven's head, the ends of its black wings, and its legs and feet (which were also black), could be seen. There was a little red fez on its head, and with the end of its right wing, which for some reason was acting as a hand, it held a gold-colored goblet. The red-haired boy and his friends sat on the floor as they looked up at the humanoid raven, its feet resting on the foot rest.

"And so the boy, scorned by the petty excuses of family members that he had, was stuck in the middle of a great moral quagmire," the raven said as he spoke with a sophisticated man's voice, turning his head from left to right every so often, "But do not cry for him." Chandler and his friends all recoiled a bit when the giant talking raven suddenly shouted "DO NOT CRY!" Going back to speaking regularly, the talking raven continued, "And what of the Latino girl who had found her heart stolen by the boy? …Who cares? She bores the piss out of me."

Chandler and his friends chuckled a bit after hearing the giant talking raven say that last bit. "The boy's journey had barely begun," the talking raven continued, "As he was currently discovering for himself. Even though he had found half of what he was looking for, a half-completed list is still incomplete. Will the boy ever reach the end of his journey? Will he ever find the entirety of what he seeks? Why do you even care? You never cared about Sir Corviknight before, have you? No one ever cares about Sir Corviknight!"

Suddenly, the giant talking raven lifts his wings up, and for some odd reason, root beer shoots out of his armpits (wingpits?) at high speeds, sending Chandler and his friends running as they screamed in alarm, while the root beer shooting out at high speeds got everywhere, making a rather big mess in the process. The red-haired boy and his friends all got out of the room before it filled entirely with root beer.

…

Chandler woke up with a start in his bed. Looking around, he saw that he was in his bedroom, and that it was dark. Taking a look at the old-fashioned digital nightstand clock on his nightstand next to his bed, Chandler saw that it was around two-thirty-two in the morning. The red-haired boy's attention was drawn to his computer, the monitor of which was still on and shining; he had been so tired that he forgot to turn his computer off.

Holding a hand to the side of his head, Chandler gently shook his head as he recalled the rather bizarre dream that he had just woken up from. "…That's the last time I mix watching Direct videos and random video clips on the internet before I go to bed," Chandler muttered to himself before he flumped back over, laying down on his bed. It wasn't very long before he found that he had slipped back off into the realm of sleep.

* * *

Around six or so hours after waking up from a bizarre dream, Chandler found himself hanging out at the local park with his friends Frank and Richie. "…Yeah, man," Richie remarked to the red-haired boy, "Staying up late while watching a weird selection of videos on the internet before finally going to bed in not the best mix of things in the world. You going to be okay, though?"

"Yeah, Richie," Chandler replied, "It's no biggie. Besides, there's too much for me to focus on to allow myself time to dwell on surreal dreams I had during the night."

Both Frank and Richie, who were loyal friends to Chandler and would help him with whatever, sticking by his side through thick and thin, nodded in agreement and understanding. "What do you have in mind to pull on Francisco today?" Frank asked.

Chandler was about to speak up when he heard a familiar female voice call out, prompting him, as well as Frank and Richie, to turn around and look. As such, the three boys all saw Kara, the thirteen-year-old cousin of Chandler, come dashing up to them, a mildly rattled look on her face. Seeing the thirteen-year-old girl look so worried caught the three boys by surprise, especially so for Chandler.

"…Hey, Kara," the red-haired boy began in a mildly curious, mildly concerned tone as he gestured to the young teen girl, "Why did you come running over to us like your underwear had caught on fire, or something?" After Kara had caught a bit of her breath, she began speaking to her younger cousin and his friends as such a speed that Chandler had to interrupt her. "Hey, hey, hey," Chandler said as he cut Kara off, "Can you repeat all of that, but speak slower?"

Sighing, Kara said, "Sorry, cous. I guess that I was so freaked by one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about that I guess I went a mile a minute."

"Hang on," Richie said, getting the thirteen-year-old girl to turn and face him, "There's more than one thing going on?"

"There's technically two things," Kara proceeded to explain, "One of which relates to that guy who Chandler is messing with so that the guy's dad looks bad by proxy, thus upping Chandler's dad's chances of landing that promotion at work."

Chandler's interest was piqued. "So something's up with Francisco, eh?" the red-haired boy said, an amused look on his face, "What's going on?"

Taking another breath, Kara said, "I heard that he almost got arrested over some incident that very recently happened at the Royal Woods Mall. From what I was able to gather on the matter, he tried harassing a kid around your age, but he had not only failed to even intimidate the kid in question, but ended up having to run away when the kid's older sister started coming up."

Chandler, as well as his two friends, all let out some amused laughter. "Hoo boy," Chandler laughed in amusement, "Here's hoping the big boss at dad's work hears about this! It'll certainly go a long way to making dad look better than Francisco's dad by proxy."

"What's the second thing you wanted to tell us about, Kara?" Frank asked as he turned to face Chandler's older cousin. Remembering that Kara said that she had two things that she wanted to tell them about, Chandler and Richie both turned to face the thirteen-year-old girl, curious looks of expectance on their respective faces. With all eyes on her, Kara sighed in a resigned tone as she began to explain to her cousin and his friends about what she had heard.

* * *

It didn't take Kara too long to find a reliable source that she could show to Chandler and his friends; since the riot that broke out at a Hispanic Heritage Month festival over in Great Lakes City is still a leading subject in current news, all the thirteen-year-old girl had to do was lead the boys back to the McCann residence, lead them into the living room, turn on the TV and search the channels until she found a news channel that provided up-to-date information.

"…There have been at least fifteen casualties and over thirty-seven injuries," a news reporter said as she reported live from the scene of what looked to be a festival that was ruined when a really big and violent fight broke out, "Witnesses confirmed that the rioters that attacked the festival were composed of races that hold Great Lakes City's Hispanic population accountable for all of the city's problems, which range from lack of housing, occasional shortages of food in the stores, and so-on."

Chandler, his friends and Kara were shocked by what they were seeing on the news as they continued to watch. "Although most of the victims of the riot were Hispanic, a fair number were from other racial groups," the news reporter went on, "This includes an Asian man and his mixed-race twelve-year-old daughter, who are among the victims that were killed. Additionally, two students, one black and one white, from Great Lakes City University, were killed while they were trying to save one of their professors from rioters, ultimately being successful in their efforts. The dean of the University says that she will look into posthumously grant both of the slain students honorary degrees for their heroism."

The news then shifted back to the studio, where the news anchor nodded in acknowledgement to the field reporter. "Thank you, Pamela," the news anchor said. To the viewers who were at home watching the news, the news anchor said, "We'll bring you viewers at home more news on the riot that happened in Great Lakes City as said news develops." When the news proceeded to shift to giving a forecast for the weather for the next couple of days, Kara lowered the volume until it was practically muted.

Turning to face the boys, Kara said, "I actually didn't hear about the riot that went on over in Great Lakes City until Ronnie Anne Santiago told me about it."

"Wait a minute," Chandler said, a confused look on his face, "How would the Queen of Pain even hear about that riot? She doesn't look like someone who would pay attention to the news, from what I can tell."

Pointing to the TV, the thirteen-year-old girl said to the boys, "That university professor who was saved by two of his students is actually Ronnie Anne's uncle." Seeing the surprised looks of shock on the respective faces of the boys, Kara nodded once in acknowledgement, knowing that she had their attention. "Yeah, you can't really blame a girl for knowing about her uncle almost getting killed in a riot," Kara added, "It's still got her worked up into a tizzy."

Kara was also told about how two other members of Ronnie Anne's extended family were also at the festival when the riot broke out, but were nowhere nearly as lucky as Ronnie Anne's uncle. But the thirteen-year-old girl figured that Chandler and his friends didn't need to know about that little tidbit of info. "From what I heard on the matter," Kara said, "The Santiagos are going to go over to Great Lakes City, so as to visit Ronnie Anne's uncle at the hospital." Kara was also not going to tell Chandler and his friends that the Santiagos had to attend a funeral for two members of their extended family as well.

"…Guys," Chandler said after a few seconds of consideration, turning to face Frank and Richie, "Remember how I told you guys, as well as Sid and Trent, that the lot of us are to keep away from Ronnie Anne because she could throttle the lot of us? Yeah, I'm going to have to insist on that again. Doing _anything_ to get on Miss Purple Pain's nerves, especially right now, would be tantamount to suicide."

Both of Chandler's friends that were present nodded in agreement with their red-haired friend. "You don't need to tell me twice," Frank remarked, "Besides which, we've got more important things going on, so it would be best to focus on that." Both Chandler and Richie nodded along with what their well-fed friend said.

Kara, with a bit of amusement in her expression, saw that the boys, in their own way, expressed how they were going to refrain from bothering Ronnie Anne when the Hispanic tomboy's family, immediate and extended, were going through tragic times. It made her feel confident that those who still claimed that the red-haired boy was without any redeeming qualities whatsoever were very much full of themselves.

* * *

The following day, Chandler was walking along on the sidewalk in the residential area of Royal Woods, making his way over to a small park/playground to wait for Frank and Trent to show up, as the three boys agreed ahead of time to meet up with each other at said park. As the red-haired boy made his way, however, he had the mild misfortune to bump into Francisco, the very young teen that he was actively screwing with.

Upon recognizing Chandler, Francisco's expression morphed into something of a scowl. "What the hell are you doing here," the thirteen-year-old boy scoffed bitterly, "You little turd?"

"Hey, I was just on my way to the nearby park," Chandler explained, hoping to avoid getting into any sort of confrontation with the older and more physically imposing boy. If things ended up coming to a one-on-one bout between him and Francisco, then the red-haired boy had no doubt that he would have his rear handed to him on a silver platter.

Francisco, thinking about similar things to what Chandler was thinking about, knew that he would have an advantage in such a bout. He also had some vague idea that the red-haired boy in front of him had at least some part in all of the crap that he (Francisco) has been forced to go through over the last few days. Figuring that this was the perfect opportunity to get a little bit of revenge, the thirteen-year-old boy grabbed Chandler's shirt collar with his left hand as he pulled his right fist back.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this one," Francisco said to Chandler in a threatening tone. However, the thirteen-year-old boy was cut off when he heard someone shout.

"Oi! Leave that kid alone!" an older, serious male voice called out, sounding like it belonged to a boy in his late teens. Looking over, Francisco saw someone run up to him and Chandler. Given that he was barely able to avoid trouble the last time it reared its ugly head near him, Francisco let go of Chandler and took off running before the older male teen had caught up.

Looking up, Chandler saw, to his mild surprise, that he was saved by Aggro Ace, the older brother of Astrid, the cutest girl at Royal Woods Elementary School (at least as far as Chandler was concerned). Granted, the red-haired boy had to put pursuing Astrid on the backburner for the time being, with Aggro having somewhat of a role in that, but when Chandler had the time, he was intending to go back to trying to win the white-haired girl's affections. But that was beside the point. For now, Chandler turned to properly face his rescuer.

"Thanks for the save, Aggro," Chandler said to the male Ace twin, "I thought that older kid was going to throttle me."

Looking off in the direction that Francisco had taken off in, Aggro said, "That boy who just took off…he isn't the best of kids here in Royal Woods. Especially after what I had observed back during the Kendo tournament that Lincoln-kun won, as well as what Leni-chan and her sisters have told me on the matter." Looking down at Chandler, Aggro said, "Can I count on you to give me a shout out the next time that boy tries anything?"

Chandler, unable to properly think of anything decent to say, merely nodded a few times in the affirmative. With a bit of a relieved smile, Aggro said, "Good. Thanks for the assist, Chandler." With a curious look on his face, the male Ace twin added, "By the way, Chandler, what are you up to right now?"

Pointing in the direction of the park he was going to meet Frank and Trent at, the red-haired boy explained, "I was just going to meet some of my friends over at the nearby park."

"Very well, then," Aggro replied, satisfied with Chandler's answer. Turning around, Aggro proceeded to take his leave from that area. However, he stopped short, turned back around and faced Chandler. "…Thanks for respecting Astrid as you have been doing thus far, Chandler," Aggro said to the red-haired boy, before turning back around and taking his leave for real.

Alone in that part of the neighborhood, Chandler decided to turn back around and proceed to make his way over to the park, like he had been doing before he was caught up by Francisco and, to a lesser extent, Aggro. Granted, the red-haired boy didn't like how he had to keep away from the cutest girl at RWES, but due to his ongoing scheme to ultimately have his dad look better than Francisco's dad at the sewage treatment plant so that his (Chandler's) dad will get that big promotion, Chandler knew that he had to prioritize.

…Aggro had no idea that he was more or less forcing Chandler to prioritize making life for Francisco as difficult as possible.

* * *

The following day, Chandler, with all four of his friends, were hanging around in the McCann family backyard. "…I heard that the Santiagos have left to go visit Great Lakes City today," Sid said to the other boys. With a shrug, the red hoodie-wearing boy continued, "It probably has to do with what Chandler's older cousin told us a short while ago, about how Ronnie Anne's uncle was almost killed in that one riot at that festival."

"I also saw Ronnie Anne's older brother at a clothing store earlier," Trent remarked, "Looking at black clothing for himself." With a curious look on his face, Trent said, "You guys don't think that Ronnie Anne's uncle died, do you?"

"I don't know, Trent," Chandler remarked, "I mean, if it comes down to it, we can probably find out from Lincoln since he and the Queen of Pain seem so close." The other boys all nodded in agreement with their red-haired friend. Clapping his hands together, Chandler said, "Anyway, boys, we ought to put other stuff like that on the backburner for the time being. For now, we've got to discuss the next part in making Francisco look bad so that his dad looks bad by proxy."

Sid, Frank, Trent and Richie all nodded in agreement as they huddled up closer to Chandler, wanting to hear the next part of his ultimate plans.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Author's notes:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know this is a short chapter. I also know that I'm incorporating parts from 'Broken Mirror: New War'. The reason for that second part is that 'BM: NW' came out and was finished _after_ this story. As such, it has a bit of material that can be incorporated into the setting of this tale to help with world building. The attack on the festival will be cropping up a few times, mostly to help fill things out as they come. As for the first part, I…honestly couldn't come up with all that much. I just wanted to shake things up a bit, and give focus on lesser things that go on in the background.

And if you guys are wondering what the exact purpose of that dream Chandler had at the beginning of the chapter was, it has multiple reasons for being there, mainly to give the idea that Chandler _may_ have some _limited_ idea of what's going on with Lincoln. Anyway, I've already got an idea on what to do for the next two chapters. One will involve one of the sisters that Lincoln has reconciled with as she ponders if she really deserved to be forgiven, and the other one will involve one of the sisters who has yet to prove herself going about trying to prove herself. I have no clue which one of those two to do first.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-five: Deserving what was given

Lily Loud, the baby of the Loud family, woke up in her crib in the bedroom that she shared with her older sister Lisa one well enough morning. Looking around as she sat in her crib, Lily saw that Lisa was not in the room. Curious, the youngest Loud sibling climbed out of her crib (it was not all that difficult a task for her, as she had figured out the right trick ages ago), stood a little shakily on her feet, and proceeded to waddle out of the bedroom, intent on figuring out where her smart big sister had wandered off to.

Luckily for Lily, the bedroom door was open by a crack, so she was able to open it up enough for her to slip out her and Lisa's bedroom. However, the moment that Lily waddled out of the bedroom, she was scooped up by Lincoln who, at that moment, had coincidentally left his own bedroom to head downstairs to get something to eat.

"Whoa there, Lily," the white-haired boy said, a bit of amusement in his tone, as he held the youngest Loud sibling, "What are you doing out of your crib? Your parents really ought to look into getting a new one that you can escape from less easily, if at all." Lily whined a bit in an upset tone, partly because she was scooped up when she wanted to have the freedom to move about as she pleased, partly because someone had made the suggestion of getting a new crib for Lily that she would be less able to escape from.

But the youngest Loud sibling whined _mostly_ because she understood Lincoln enough to tell that he referred to their parents as not being his. Many may not realize this, but despite her young age, Lily is more intelligent and aware of things than the average person would give her credit for. Lily was aware that a while ago, her big brother was nowhere to be seen, and that ever since her big brother was found, he was very much upset with how the rest of the family had treated him, prior to him trying to become the hide-and-seek champion.

Granted, Lily's big brother has been coming to reconcile with their family members one by one; as a matter of fact, Lily was the _first_ person in the family who Lincoln had reconciled with. When the youngest Loud sibling realized that she was the first person in her family that her big brother considered as his family again, she was very happy. However, Lily was thrown for a loop when she understood the exact extent as to _why_ Lincoln forgave her first over anyone else in the whole of their family.

She's the baby.

Lily, at first, honestly thought that she had done a sufficient effort to have earned the right of having Lincoln refer to her as one of his family members, just like some of her older sisters as of late. But then she heard Lincoln explain to some of their older sisters that he forgave her because she's the baby of the family, thus she can't be held accountable for her actions. Lily wanted to _earn_ the right for Lincoln to consider her as his family, just like how the rest of the Louds have to earn it. And yet it was given to the baby of the family _because_ she's a baby.

Believe it or not, Lily actually has a degree of pride; with how some of her older sisters have been known to show pride in their own ways, it should not come as a surprise that Lily herself can be prideful. And although Lily knew that her big brother did not mean to, the fact remains that he had _stung_ her pride by reconciling with her instantly because, by his actions, he had shown that he didn't think Lily was capable of properly earning the right to be considered as his family, unlike what some of their sisters have done, and what the rest of their sisters and both of their parents have yet to do.

Lily hated how, by virtue of her being a baby, she was constantly underestimated. The youngest Loud sister wanted to show that she was just as, if not more so, capable of action as her older siblings. If that chance would only rear its head, then Lily would seize it by the horns. She would prove that she ought to be given the _chance_ to show that she can properly earn something that she wanted, rather than just have that something she wanted simply handed to her, as if it was an automatic response.

But that would be a task that would have to be settled later. For now, Lily figured that she ought to settle down and allow her big brother to take her to wherever it was that he was carting her off to. As it turned out, he took her down with him to the ground floor and over into the dining room, where most of their sisters were already eating at the dining table. Lily was placed in her highchair by Lincoln before he turned around to head into the kitchen to grab some of whatever was available for breakfast.

Lily did not have to wait all that long until her mom came over, a spoon in her right hand and a jar of baby food in her left, and proceeded to feed her breakfast. Rita remarked as she fed her that Lily was not being fussy in the least. Indeed, the youngest Loud sibling was not being a fussy eater. But little did the Loud matriarch know that the reason why her youngest daughter was not being a fussy eater was because she was feeling troubled by what her family as a whole was going though at the moment.

And that she was (seemingly) powerless to play any part in trying to rectify matters.

* * *

After breakfast, most of the sisters that were younger than Lincoln wanted to go to the park, and Rita, not wanting them to go alone, asked the older sisters if any of them were willing to go and keep an eye on the younger girls. None of the five oldest Loud sisters were able to do so, either due to not exactly being in a position to do so due to other obligations (Lori was one of the older sisters to claim this but was actually lying as she simply did not want to do it), they weren't actually around when Rita was asking, or (in Luan's case) was actually sick and in no shape to keep an eye on the younger sisters.

To Lily's surprise, Lincoln ended up offering to be the one to do so, despite the fact that out of the five youngest Loud sisters, he has only come to re-acknowledge two of them. And the baby Loud sister knew that, as one of those two, she was an expected given, a status that still stung at her pride. All in all, Lily ended up sitting on a bench in the park next to her big brother while the twins were in a sandbox, Lucy was sitting in the plentiful shade of a tree, and Lisa was off doing who knows what.

The baby Loud sister looked around to where her older sisters at the park were. Over in the sandbox where Lola and Lana were playing, Lily was able to notice that there was a hint of resigned guilt in the tomboyish twin's expression whereas the princess twin looked to be in far better spirits. Lily knew that this had to do with the fact that Lincoln did not consider Lana as one of his family yet. Lily couldn't see the looks on either Lucy's face or Lisa's, given that the gothic Loud sister sat under a tree too far away and that Lily couldn't even see Lisa period, but she had little doubt, if any, that they wore expressions similar to that of Lana's.

Lily couldn't help but wonder if Lana, Lucy and Lisa were all trying to figure out how to get back into their big brother's good graces, just like how Lola was able to do so and what Lily herself was trying to figure out how to deserve after that privilege had been handed to her on a silver platter.

Despite wondering what she could do to prove herself, despite the sense of mildly gnawing guilt eating away at her, Lily was still overall happy. After all, she was at the park, and seated right next to the best big brother in the world, no less. The baby Loud sister allowed her attention to wander for a bit, looking up at the tall trees overhead, their abundantly leafy branches providing ample shade that allowed only trickles of sunlight to cast down upon her. Although this would be a mildly pleasing sight to older people, to a baby like Lily, it was nothing short of breathtaking.

Right as Lily began to doze off, she was snapped back to full attention when her older brother scolded to someone, "Hey, what was that for?" Curious, Lily looked over and saw that there was now some yellow-haired boy with glasses standing next to the end of the bench where Lincoln sat. Lily could not quite see her older brother's face, given that his head was turned to face this newly arrived boy in his age group, but the baby Loud sister got the feeling that this boy aimed to cause trouble that Lincoln didn't want any part in.

"I saw that Astrid Ace was looking at you last time everyone was at school, Loud," the blonde boy sneered, his tone clearly unamused, "Care to explain?"

Scoffing in an indifferent tone, Lincoln said, "Why do you even care that she was looking at me, Ross? It's not like I'm actually interested in Astrid."

"That's still no excuse," this other boy, apparently called Ross, said as Lily saw him shove her big brother in his left shoulder. Oh, no he did not! How dare that mean Ross boy shove the best big brother in the world! Lily was not just going to stand by and put up with someone treating _her_ big brother like that! Ross moved to shove his hand against Lincoln's shoulder again, only for the white-haired boy to quickly grab Ross by his right wrist, getting up off of the bench in the process, and looking the blonde-haired conceited boy right in the eye.

Quickly, Ross pulled his arm back, freeing himself from the sole Loud boy's grasp. "The hell do you think you are?" Ross snapped, his temper rising, "Trying to take away from me what should be rightfully mine!"

"First off," Lincoln said, his brow furrowed as he proceeded to tell the conceited blonde-haired boy off, "I am by no means interested in pursuing any sort of romantic relationship with Astrid, so quit thinking I'm planning to whisk her away on the back of a white stallion or whatever the hell it is you think I'm going to do. Two, I'm pretty sure that Aggro-sensei has already made it clear to you that he doesn't want you anywhere near Astrid, given that she's his younger sister and you've been bothering her to the point it's made her uncomfortable. Three, that last bit that you said just now is part of your problem; you're treating Astrid as an object, as a prize to be won. She's not a _thing_, she's a_ human being_. And fourth and finally…" The sole Loud boy paused and widened his eyes a bit, keeping his gaze, which now carried a significant amount of the Killing Intent that Lincoln has been known to exude as of late, locked right onto Ross.

"…You are _forgetting your place_," Lincoln growled, catching Ross by surprise and making him take pause out of fright. Lily, who could sense her brother's aura despite not being the target of said aura, was so scared of her brother being that mad that she peed her diaper. Lily soon got over her fright, however, when she saw that her brother's scary aura was all aimed at this mean boy who was trying to bully him.

Lincoln began calming down, releasing the aura of Killing Intent that he was giving off, and allowing Ross to gather himself up a bit. "…So then, Ross," the white-haired boy growled, "How is this going to go down?"

Baking up a step, Ross snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why can't you just let me have anything? How would me scoring the cutest girl at school do anything to hurt or otherwise affect you? It's not like you're wanting for female attention since Santiago has you in her eyes!"

Lily could tell, as Ross was snapping at Lincoln, that Lincoln himself was rolling his shoulders a bit, a sign that, should Ross try to bring things to blows, that the blonde-haired conceited boy will undoubtedly regret it. Regardless of that, of the fact that Lincoln would without doubt send that Ross boy packing with his tail between his legs, the baby Loud sister still feared that her big brother would get hurt. It almost made Lily forget that she peed her…

…Wait, she had a pee-soaked diaper.

…

Ross was staring down that bastard Lincoln Loud, raising his fists in preparation to fight him. Regardless of the fact that Lincoln was not only the scariest kid at school, as well as one of the toughest since he can tussle with the likes of Ronnie Anne Santiago _and_ he's being personally trained by Astrid Ace's older brother, there was no way in hell that Ross was simply going to put up with the sole Loud boy constantly being in the way. Not without a fight, at least.

Lincoln, for his part, only raised a wry eyebrow in amusement, the only sign of any emotion that he was feeling in this whole situation. He could very easily beat Ross in a one-v-one fight, even without having to exude his Killing Intent. The sole Loud boy didn't want to use that anyway, given that Lily was less than five feet away, and that he could already smell the acidic plume of urine coming from-

Everything came to a screeching halt when the inner side of a pee-soaked diaper smacked against the side of Ross's right arm, not only staining Ross's long-sleeved shirt but also making him jump back a bit, mostly out of disgust. Both Ross and Lincoln turned to see a naked Lily sitting on the bench, glaring angrily at Ross as she babbled in a none-too-pleased tone while waving her arms up and down at her sides.

"Uhhhhg!" the conceited blonde-haired boy exclaimed in disgust, "That baby just threw a dirty diaper at me!"

Lincoln, for his part, could not help but snort back a laugh. Right before Ross could move to take any action, however, both fifth grade boys heard an older boy's voice call out, "Hey, what do you think you're doing with the bro?" Lincoln and Ross, as well as Lily to a lesser extent, saw Bobby Santiago come running over. Lily did not know who exactly Bobby actually was; all that the youngest Loud sibling knew was that she saw him a lot, and that he was in some capacity associated with Lily and Lincoln's older sister Lori.

Long story short, Lincoln told Bobby everything, then Bobby turned to Ross and told him to buzz off, then Ross begrudgingly left. Seeing that mean boy who was trying to be mean to Lily's big brother put a smile on the baby Loud sister's face, as well as draw some giggles out of her.

* * *

A few minutes later (Lincoln had to put a clean diaper on Lily), the white-haired boy and the five youngest Loud sisters were walking away from the park with Bobby, who was called by Lori to go to the park to pick the kids up. Lincoln was pushing the stroller that Lily had fallen asleep in as he and the others walked alongside the Santiago teen.

"…She threw her diaper at that boy?" Bobby asked, amusement in his tone as he talked to Lincoln about what had happened.

Nodding a few times in the affirmative, Lincoln said, "It wasn't all that necessary, given that I could have handled Ross on my own just fine." With a gentle, appreciative look on his face, the white-haired boy continued, "But from what I figure, Lily was just trying to show that she didn't want anyone trying to bother me."

"Someone else who doesn't what that Ross prick to bother you is Aggro," Bobby said as he fiddled around with his phone, "I just texted him about what happened, as well as what you had told me. I think it's safe to say that Aggro will not be putting up with that Ross prick."

"Yeah, Aggro-sensei acts swiftly and decisively when incidents like what happened at the park occur," Lincoln remarked in agreement. By that point in the conversation, Bobby and the Loud kids he was escorting reached the area of the neighborhood where they lived. The Santiago teen took Lori's younger siblings over to their house, and they saw Bobby off as he took his leave. With little else keeping them, Lincoln and the five youngest Loud sisters made their way inside.

* * *

Up in Lisa and Lily's room, Lincoln walked over to Lily's crib while carrying the baby Loud sister. Gently setting Lily down in her crib, Lincoln reached over to her head and gave her a bit of a ruffle, even though there wasn't much hair on Lily's head for Lincoln to ruffle in the first place. "Heh," Lincoln chuckled a bit as he gave a mildly amused smirk, "That was a pretty bold move that you made back at the park, Lils. Do didn't really like how that other boy was treating me, did you?"

Lily babbled a bit in a tone to show she was not happy with 'that other boy', and followed that babbling up with blowing a raspberry. This drew another chuckle out of the white-haired boy. Reaching forward again, Lincoln gave Lily's right cheek a gently pinch, wiggled it a bit. "It's great to know that I have a sister who's willing to back me up," Lincoln remarked, "Thanks for wanting to look out for me, Lils."

Her big brother's tone, as well as him gently playing with her, made Lily happy. But what really sealed the deal was that Lincoln had referred to her as his sister. Granted, Lincoln had technically accepted Lily as his family again, pretty much right away after he had returned home after being gone for so long. But now? Now Lily feels much better about having that privilege.

Now Lily feels like she's actually _earned_ it.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Author's notes:

It seems from what all I have seen that I am one of the very few people, if not the only person, who has ever given any thought to what Lily would think in a situation such as what the Louds as a whole are going through in this story. Just to make sure that I am clear here, I am _**NOT**_ saying that Lincoln should expect Lily to work to prove she deserves forgiveness from him; I, in fact, agree with the logic that Lincoln shouldn't hold a baby accountable for anything. I'm just trying to show how the characters themselves might feel in the situation they find themselves in.

For all we know, Lily may _want_ to prove herself just as much as the other Louds.

Anyway, this chapter is unique in the sense that, rather than a sister reconciling with Lincoln, a sister that Lincoln has already accepted proves to him that he was not wrong to do so. No need to worry, though; we'll cover a sister trying to reconcile with Lincoln next time. It's actually going to be something that I've been wanting to tackle for quite some time, especially considering what has occurred in previous chapters.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-six: Tomboyish troubles

Lana Loud was NOT having all that good of a time right now.

Don't get her wrong; Lana was currently working on making various fixes and repairs to Vanzilla, and working with mechanical stuff along those lines was something that the tomboyish Loud twin always enjoyed doing. It's just that Lana was currently so troubled by something, a something that weighed on her heart, that she was unable to find as much joy in working with mechanics as she normally would have.

The reason why Lana was unable to find as much joy out of one of her usual passions was because there was something she didn't have right now, something that obtaining would not only be of great joy to her, but it would allow her to find joy in other things, things that she normally enjoyed doing. But have that thing Lana did not, and thus she found herself viewing the fixing of Vanzilla as more of a chore than an entertaining game.

As far as she was concerned, however, Lana felt as if she had this lack of joy in her life coming.

After tightening a part in the motor, Lana leaned to her side to look at the driver side door. "Okay, Lori!" the tomboyish Loud twin called out, "Try giving it another go!"

Lori, from where she sat in the driver's seat, attempted to give it some gas. To a surprising lack of surprise on the parts of both Loud sisters involved, Vanzilla roared to life, as if it never had any trouble to speak of in the first place. The ancient family van hummed a bit until Lori turned the engine off, shutting Vanzilla down as a whole. After that, the oldest Loud sister climbed out of the driver's seat, closing the door behind her.

"I'd say that I was literally surprised," Lori began as she turned to face the direction that Lana was in, "But given how many times you've brought Vanzilla back to life before, I'm pretty sure that I've run out of different ways to express that notion at this point." Turning to give the ancient family van a look of consideration, Lori added, "What never fails to surprise me, though, is the fact that dad had literally insisted on keeping this fossil." Lana, despite the fact that a vehicle of Vanzilla's age meant that she would always have something related to mechanics to work with, nodded in agreement with her oldest sibling.

At some point or another, their dad really ought to replace Vanzilla altogether. Even a person of Lana's skills can only do so much until nothing more can be done, leaving the Louds with no other option than to do what should have been done…sometime before Lana was born, actually. By Lana's estimation on the matter (and given Lana's aforementioned expertise, one would be wise to listen to Lana in this regard), Vanzilla should have been replaced with a newer family vehicle right after her older sister Lucy was born, and Lana means _right_ after. It would have done a lot to save the Louds money if Lynn Sr. didn't allow sentiment to cloud his judgment.

As Lana rubbed a washcloth over her hands, she perked up a bit when Lori said, "Hey Lana, you literally look upset. Are you okay?" Turning her head so she could up at look at her oldest sister, the tomboyish Loud twin saw that Lori was looking at her with an expression of concern. Now that she thought about it, Lana realized that she was letting what was on her mind at the moment have an effect on her mood. Lana sighed before she stopped rubbing the washcloth over her hands and turned to properly face Lori. Lana knew that there would be no beating around the bush on this one, so she figured that she might as well come out and say it.

"…No, Lori," Lana replied, her tone sounding a bit defeated and lame, a testament to how she was feeling at the moment, "No, I'm not okay."

Lori arched an eyebrow as she considered her grease monkey of a younger sister for a couple of seconds. Given the contemplative look on her face, Lori seemed to have an idea on why Lana was upset. It helped that the oldest Loud sister herself was similarly upset, and for pretty much an identical reason. Lori walked up to Lana, got down on one knee to be more level with her, and laid a hand on her right shoulder, a gesture of reassurance.

"…It's because Lincoln literally hasn't acknowledged you as his sister again yet, isn't it?" Lori spoke, stating more than asking. Leave it to Lori to hit the nail on the head when it comes to getting to the point of things.

Sighing once again, Lana said, "…Yeah, it is." Tossing the washcloth that she held onto the ground at her feet, Lana continued, "I mean, what can I do to prove to Lincoln that forgiving me is worth it? And how come he forgave Lola so far and not me? Isn't Lola usually meaner to the rest of us than any of us are to each other?"

Lori was starting to understand her tomboyish little sister more and more. It would make sense that Lana was letting some of her emotions get to her; as a six-year-old child, it was something that the little grease monkey could not help. Lana was upset that Lincoln was still giving her the cold shoulder, angry at herself because she realized that she had it coming, and even displaying jealousy towards Lola because the pageant winning princess was able to reconcile with the sole Loud boy before her.

It wouldn't be accurate to say that Lori was not at least a little jealous of the girls who Lincoln had already reconciled with. The oldest Loud sister was very much jealous of Lily, Luan, Lola, Lynn (surprising given that she was the main cause of Lincoln running away in the first place), Luna and Leni. And it was because she understood how Lana was feeling that Lori figured that she ought to help Lana get onto a path that would lead to Lana being once again acknowledged by their estranged brother.

"…Hey, Lana," Lori began, the mild hint of knowing amusement in her tone piquing Lana's interest and making her look up at the oldest Loud sister, "Give me a bit, and I can come up with something that I bet will work."

Lana, upon realizing that Lori more or less said that she was going to help her reconcile with their white-haired brother, immediately jumped up and threw her arms around Lori, wrapping her up in a hug that was only mildly suffocating. Still, Lori understood, both through the act of the hug and by Lana's mile a minute blabbering, that the tomboyish Loud twin was very much happy that she had a shot of very soon reconciling with Lincoln, to be acknowledged as his little sister once again.

* * *

Lincoln was currently hanging out over at the Santiago residence, where he was talking to Ronnie Anne about his recent encounter with Ross. "…And that's when your older brother came by and chased Ross off," the white-haired boy said as he finished recounting his story to the Hispanic tomboy, who had tried to snort back her laughter. …Emphasis on 'tried'; Ronnie Anne failed, thus she burst out laughing.

"Your baby sister threw her diaper at Ross and it smacked him with its stained side?" Ronnie Anne nearly exclaimed, "Holy crud, that's hilarious! I bet that Ross can still detect phantom odors coming from his shirt where it was hit with baby piss!"

Lincoln figured that Ronnie Anne would get a kick out of the fact that Ross was hit with a diaper that was soaked with baby pee. Still, Lincoln understood why; Ross is one of the two main boys who have been known to bother Astrid, Ronnie Anne's bestie. Hearing that the conceited blonde boy was struck with a baby's pee-stained diaper, and that said pee was apparently still fresh, had done much to make the Hispanic tomboy double over in laughter.

To the white-haired boy's credit, he could see and understand _why_ Ronnie Anne would find such amusement in hearing of such a crude happening being done to Ross. He could even appreciate the humor value that Ronnie Anne found; even though he normally wouldn't encourage his little sister Lilly to do such a thing, Lincoln could understand why the baby Loud girl did what she did, especially considering that she was _right there_ when Ross was trying to harass him.

Yeah. There was no way that Lily would allow Ross to get away with harassing her older brother. Not while she was there, watching everything unfold, and could do something to get the conceited blonde boy's attention off of Lincoln. But this is getting off subject.

"Anyway, Lincoln," Ronnie Anne began, once she had managed to stifle her laughter enough, "I'm sorry to have to cut things short here, but I got to go check in with Astrid about something. I'll catch you later, though." Lincoln nodded once in understanding, getting the cue that it was time for him to take his leave from the Santiago residence. After gathering up his backpack that he brought with him, the white-haired boy took his leave.

"Yeah, I'll catch you later too, Ronnie Anne," Lincoln replied as he stepped out the door, having been shown the way out. Ronnie Anne gave him a wave good-bye before she closed the door behind him, so she could go get ready for her little excursion over to the Ace residence. Feeling a bit better after having hung out with a friend, Lincoln proceeded to make his way back to the Loud residence, a slight spring in his step.

Lincoln made his way home, unaware of what would await him upon his return.

* * *

"Are you sure this will work, you two?"

"Trust me, Lana, this will literally go a long way, if not outright get him to accept you again."

"Lori's got a point. I mean, who _doesn_'_t_ like a bunch of goodies like cake and whatnot?"

Lana, with a slightly skeptical expression on her face as she fiddled with the dress gloves she wore (borrowed from Lola), stood with Lori and Lola in their family's dining room. Sitting on the table was a notable spread of baked goods, such as a cake, some brownies, a tray of marshmallow rice cereal squares, some cookies, and other such baked goods that many would enjoy. There was even some hot chocolate to drink, in a nice large mug at one of the places at the table; there was also some more hot chocolate waiting in a pot on the stove in the kitchen.

From the looks of things, it seemed as though an entire bakery's worth of baked goods had been prepared and set up on the dining table. This all was the tomboyish Loud twin's first gesture, the idea of which was given to her by Lori with some input from Lola, towards her white-haired older brother in an effort to try and reconcile with him. Lana could see how a gesture such as this would convince Lincoln that she was sorry for her part in what she and the rest of the Loud girls did to drive him into running away; after all, if someone had greatly upset Lana herself and they did this as a gesture to try and make things up to her, she would be convinced.

…But then again, everything on the table was something that any six-year-old girl would crave. Lincoln is an eleven-year-old boy and, although anyone would be amazed by a gesture such as the bakery spread, there was no guarantee that Lana's efforts here would be as effective at winning Lincoln back over as they would if Lana herself was upset and all of this was done in an effort to try and win her back over. The grease monkey Loud sister could only hope that her older brother had a big enough sweet tooth that this gesture would have at least some effect.

To really sell the point home, Lana had a very strong presence in the preparation of practically all of the goodies that were set up on the dining table; the only exceptions were the cake, which was made by Lori, and the hot chocolate, which was, surprisingly enough, made by Lori's rival-turned-friend Carol Pingrey, using an old family recipe that had been in the homecoming queen's family for at least three generations. Lori and both Loud twins had a sample of Carol's special hot chocolate, and all three of them were instantly won over by it. The girls, Lana especially so, could only hope that it would be just as effective when Lincoln tried it.

"Hey, I think I see Lincoln coming home!" Lola said with a hint of excitement in her tone, drawing both Lori and Lana over to look out one of the windows. Sure enough, the white-haired boy could be seen walking along the sidewalk outside of the Loud residence, making a slight turn so he could go right to the front door. Lori and Lana quickly rushed to hide somewhere nearby while Lana went to stand right by the base of the stairs, to make sure that she would be the first person that Lincoln saw when he stepped into the house.

Sure enough, when Lincoln walked through the front door, he was greeted by the sight of Lana standing there. "…Oh, hey Lana," Lincoln greeted in a neutral tone. Although the tone didn't exactly show that Lincoln was perfectly happy to see the tomboyish Loud twin, her presence did not exactly inspire feelings of disgust in him. Still, the neutral tone suggested that Lincoln was in a fairly good mood at the moment.

Lana, who was keeping herself very perceptive to her older brother's feelings in the hopes of finding the right time to try to set things right with him, was able to pick up on this. She found it to be the perfect opportunity to carry out her efforts. Hoping that she wasn't wrong about this, Lana walked right up to Lincoln. "Hey Lincoln," Lana began, "There's something that I want to show you out in the dining room. Can you follow me for a bit?"

Lana right away saw her older brother arch an eyebrow as he wore an expression of curious consideration. The grease monkey Loud sister, upon noticing this change in Lincoln's expression, was worried that her older brother was being suspicious. So it was to Lana's relief that Lincoln, after a few seconds of silence, agreed with a nod. With a bit of excitement in her heart, Lana led Lincoln into the dining room.

…

When he was led into the dining room by Lana, Lincoln saw what he suspected was what Lana was wanting to show him; a diverse spread of various confections that could be found at a local sweets bakery. Lincoln was a bit surprised to see such a spread on the table shared by his family members and ex-family members. A lot of said baked goods also clearly looked to be homemade and not purchased products.

"_So this is Lana_'_s attempt_, _huh_?" the white-haired boy thought as he looked over everything that was on the table, "_Well that would explain the gloves that she clearly had borrowed from Lola_. _I really hope that Lana didn_'_t make all of this unsupervised_." Turning to face his younger ex-sister, Lincoln asked, "You had the appropriate supervision when you went about making all of this, didn't you?"

Nodding in the affirmative, Lana replied, "Yeah, I had Lori watching me the whole time, and she even assisted in things that I couldn't exactly do myself." With a hint on insistence in her tone, Lana quickly added, "But I did the vast majority of the work in prepping all of this!"

Lincoln nodded once in understanding as he looked over everything that was set up on the dining room table. Of course there was no way that a six-year-old girl, acting on her own, could make all of the stuff that was sitting on the table. Lincoln felt that he would have been a bit upset in the worried sense if Lana really did make all of this on her own, given how reckless it would be for a child her age to do all of that work solo; but Lana said that she had Lori supervising her for the entire time, so that put the white-haired boy at ease.

"I see that you were trying to make a sweet gesture to me," Lincoln remarked to Lana while he was looking over everything, "And before you ask, no, I was not trying to make a Luan-style pun there just now."

"So Lincoln," Lana began, a hint of hopefulness in her tone. Gesturing to where everything was set up on the dining room table, the tomboyish Loud twin asked, "What do you think? You want to try some of what I had a majority hand in preparing?" Lincoln looked from the spread on the table to Lana, then back to the spread, then back to Lana, and he kept that cycle up for a few more switches up until he finally settled on Lana.

When she saw her estranged older brother look at her with a serious look of consideration, Lana feared that Lincoln was _not_ going to accept all of her efforts here. She feared that this gesture might have actually offended him in some way or another. "_He doesn_'_t think that I_'_m trying to fatten him up like I_'_m a witch who wants to eat him_, _does he_?" Lana worriedly thought as she was beginning to panic mildly under Lincoln's considering gaze.

However, all of Lana's worries flew out the window and was replaced with confusion when Lincoln pointed to her and said, "Wait here. I'll be back in a minute or so." Lincoln then turned around and left the dining room to head up the stairs. While the white-haired boy was gone, Lana saw Lori and Lola peek out from the kitchen to regard her with confused looks that had dashes of worried concern in them.

Lincoln technically did not reject Lana's gesture just yet, but he went straight up to the second floor without even bothering to give any of the baked goods Lana made a try. Maybe Lincoln had to use the bathroom first? As Lana, Lola and Lori all wondered what their brother was up to at the moment, they all heard Lincoln come back down the stairs, a sound that prompted Lori and Lola to duck back into the kitchen to hide. Within a few seconds, Lana saw her estranged older brother walk back into the dining room with her, carrying something that caught her attention.

A first aid kit.

Pointing to Lana's gloved hands, Lincoln said in a tone that would broker no argument, "The gloves, Lana. Take them off."

"The gloves?" Lana repeated in a confused tone, one that carried a hint of worried fear.

"Those are clearly one of the pairs of gloves that Lola usually wears," Lincoln stated dryly, "I can't see any reason why you would want to wear them on any normal occasion." Gesturing to the spread on the table that Lana had a strong presence in preparing, the white-haired boy went on, "But all of that gives me an idea on why you'd be wearing those gloves. Now hurry up and take them off. I want to see your hands."

Seeing that there was no way out of this for her, Lana gave in and slowly removed the pink dress gloves she had borrowed from Lola, wincing slightly in pain as she took them off. The pained wincing of Lana's did not escape Lincoln's notice, and he took it as a sign that what he suspected was more and more likely to be true. Sure enough, his suspicions were outright confirmed when he saw Lana's hands.

The tomboyish Loud twin sported spots on her hands where small heat blisters had formed. Lana also had a noticeable burn mark on the palm of her left hand, going from somewhere under her left index finger and going diagonally all the way down to the bottom of the hand. Seeing the damage on Lana's hands, Lincoln let out a resigned sigh; even with supervision from Lori, Lana had hurt herself in what was clearly her attempt to get back into his good graces again. Granted, small children hurting themselves trying to make something in the kitchen isn't exactly rare, but it still worried the white-haired boy to see Lana like this.

"…I can see why you'd wear a pair of Lola's dress gloves," Lincoln remarked to Lana, a hint of dryness in his tone that suggested that what he saw on Lana's hands had confirmed suspicions that he had. "Now hold your hands out," Lincoln continued in an instructive tone to Lana before he opened the first aid kit that he had collected from upstairs and immediately went to work on treating Lana's injuries.

Lana was surprised that Lincoln was prioritizing treating her injuries over enjoying the sweets of her labors (they were sweets, not fruits) that she made in her efforts to be his little sister again. "You said that Lori was supervising you, right?" Lincoln asked, "Then why didn't she treat your injuries herself?"

"I told her not to bother," Lana confessed, feeling a little guilty that her brother, who was still estranged from her at the moment, was fretting over her, "I was more focused on making sure everything was ready for you before you got back from wherever it was that you had gone off to." Turning her head to the side so that she was looking away from Lincoln, Lana said in a very guilty tone, "I'm sorry that I'm making you worry about me, Lincoln."

The white-haired boy let out a resigned sigh as he heard Lana's explanation; even when injured, Lana cared more about him taking her back as his sister than her own well-being. The white-haired boy supposed that it was the logic of a child as young and driven towards a single goal as Lana. He really wished that Lana wasn't so reckless in trying to get back into his good graces once again, even though he could understand why Lana would go to such lengths.

He could also appreciate that Lana cared that much about trying to make things right with him.

Once he had finished treating Lana's hands, Lincoln packed everything back up into the first aid kit, set it off to the side in the dining room, and then turned to look at Lana. "…I assume that here is more of whatever's in the mug sitting at my place at the table, right?" Lincoln asked.

Realizing what her estranged older brother was talking about, Lana said, "Oh, you mean the hot chocolate? Yeah, there's some out in the kitchen in the pot on the stove." As Lana gave her older brother a curious look, Lori and Lola, both of which were hiding out in the kitchen, moved to leave the kitchen, successfully doing so without catching Lincoln's attention. Looking up at her older brother, Lana asked, "Why do you ask, Lincoln?"

Once again, Lincoln pointed to Lana and said, "Wait here." Doing as she was told, Lana stood in that same spot as she watched Lincoln go out into the kitchen. After a minute or so, Lincoln came back out, carrying a full mug of the hot chocolate from the pot on the stove. Pointing to the right hand seat next to his seat at the table (if you were sitting in his seat at the table and faced forward), Lincoln said, "Go and sit there."

Curious about what her older brother was up to, Lana did as Lincoln told her. As Lana sat in the seat that was pointed out to her, Lincoln sat in his seat, but not before placing the mug of hot chocolate that he had acquired in front of Lana. As Lincoln sat in his seat, he said to Lana, "I'm going to have to ask you to promise me something, Lana."

"What is it?" Lana asked.

Gesturing to everything that was on the table, Lincoln said, "The next time you go about making something like this spread here, and you hurt yourself while making said spread, I don't care what you're ultimately aiming to do, I want you to treat any and all injuries you have before you do anymore work. Do I make myself clear?"

Lana nodded quietly in obedience, not wanting to risk upsetting her older brother more. With a smile that had a hint of relief in it, Lincoln said, "Good. Thanks, Lana." Gesturing to the mug of hot chocolate that he had procured for her, Lincoln said, "Well, what are you waiting for, Lana? Aren't you going to drink that? Also, you're not going to just sit there and watch me eat all of this, are you? You should have some as well."

"What do you mean, Lincoln?" the tomboyish Loud twin asked, looking at Lincoln with a look of surprise on her face.

Turning to regard his little sister with a look of mild self-amusement on his face, Lincoln said, "Well why wouldn't I want to share something like this with one of my sisters, especially if the sister in question is the one that-" Lincoln was cut off, as he was somewhat expecting, when Lana suddenly leaned forward quickly wrapped her arms around him (the stinging pain in her hands be damned), and squeezed him as much as she can in a hug, crying softly all the while. For his part, Lincoln merely smiled. It was a small one, but also one that was very warm.

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Author's notes:

This chapter finally has Lincoln accept Lana as a sister again, despite having accepted Lola a long time ago. Lana was going into this with mixed feelings of worrying that she would fail and a little jealousy towards her younger twin sister that she had been able to reconcile with Lincoln first. What Lana did here to reconcile with Lincoln may not be _entirely_ original, but there are a few twists here that I hope sells the point of how much Lana was trying to make things right with her older brother.

Anyway, with Lana having been accepted by Lincoln here, that covers seven out of the twelve members of the Louds that have to make things right with the white-haired boy; that means we're a little over halfway done by this point. And in only twenty-six chapters! We got a bit more down the line waiting for us, and I'll be damned if I don't try to make the ride along the way as interesting as possible for all of you guys out there. Anyway, the next chapter will be seeing the return of a somewhat familiar plot.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Restored Image: A tale retold

Chapter twenty-seven: Treasure Hunters

Lincoln Loud was walking through one of the residential areas in his hometown of Royal Woods, Michigan, on one well enough day. On this particular occasion, the white-haired boy was accompanied by his younger sisters Lola and Lana, the six-year-old twins of the Loud family. In addition to the Loud twins, the group also had Skippy, a boy in RWES first-grade year, same as the twins.

Skippy also just so happens to be the boy that Lana has a crush on; as far as Lincoln could tell, Skippy might very well feel the same about Lana. That being said, Lincoln would be sure to keep an eye out on Skippy, lest he do something to upset the grease monkey Loud sister. Lincoln had just recently reconciled with Lana, accepting her as his sister again. As such, he's not exactly quick to want to see Lana made upset for some reason or another.

"So, tell me," Lana began, her tone suggesting that she was not exactly eager to go to where the group was heading at the moment, "Why are we heading over to Winston's place again?" True to Lana's words, the group were currently making their way over to the residence of Winston, another six-year-old who was in RWES's first-grade year. Similar to how Lana has a crush on Skippy, Lola has a crush on Winston.

"Winston said that he found something really cool yesterday in his family's backyard while he was helping to dig some holes in the ground in preparation for constructing a patio of some kind," Skippy explained, "Winston is a close personal friend of mine, so it's natural that he'd want to invite me over so he can show me what he found." With a bit of an excited hum, the six-year-old boy continued, "I bet he found a dinosaur fossil or something similar! Maybe he found a chunk of amber that has an insect trapped inside!"

"Winston also invited me over to show me what he found because he's a proper gentleman who knows how to treat ladies such as myself," Lola remarked as she addressed her older twin sister, "You're coming along because mom thought that it would be nice since both Skippy and I are going, and Lincoln here was kind enough to see us all over." The white-haired eleven-year-old boy nodded in agreement, confirming Lola's words to Lana.

After the group turned around a corner, the house where Winston and his family lived came into view. After a brisk walk over, Lincoln and the first graders made it to their destination. "Allow me," Lola said as the group reached the front door. Reaching up, Lola rang the doorbell, and after the group waited for a few seconds, the door was answered by Winston. He wasn't wearing his usual jacket, but he was wearing the light blue vest, which was worn over a long-sleeved white shirt. Other than that, Winston's attire looked like it usually does.

"Ah, I was wondering when you all would come!" Winston greeted in a friendly tone, "Please, come in!" After Lincoln and the others made their way in, Winston remarked to Lincoln and Lana, "Truthfully, I was only expecting Lola and Skippy to come over but having you two as well is a welcomed surprise."

"Me and my sisters' mom wanted me to make sure my sisters got over here safely, and she also thought that it'd be nice if Lana came since both Lola and Skippy were coming," Lincoln said.

Nodding in an understanding manner, Winston replied, "That's very reasonable." Clapping his hands together, Winston continued, "Now then, since everyone's here, I suppose that now would be a good time to show you all what I had found yesterday during my family's preparations to construct that patio, hmm?" The six-year-olds and Lincoln all nodded in agreement as they all went to follow Winston to his room.

* * *

About a minute or so later, Lincoln, the twins and Skippy were sitting or standing around in Winston's bedroom as he searched one of his desk drawers for something. Their patience paid off, because Winston found what he was looking for. He then walked over to where everyone else was waiting, his hand clasped around something. "Well then, here it is," Winston said as he showed the guests what he had found; it was a bright red, sparkly rock that seemed like it was a gemstone. "This is what I found yesterday," Winston said as he showed off his discovery.

"Winston, it's so pretty!" Lola remarked, her eyes fixed on her crush's discovery.

"It looks like a hunk of cherry-flavored candy," Lana said, as if she were imagining that Winston's discovery was actually candy.

"I'm more of a strawberry candy kind of guy myself, but the color's roughly the same," Skippy commented, silently wishing that he had some candy. As the first-graders all stared at the sparkly rock, Lincoln's eyes widened as he looked at it himself, realizing what the rock might actually be. "…Hey Winston," Lincoln began, "Can I see that rock of yours really quick?"

"Sure thing," Winston replied as he walked over and handed his discovery over to Lincoln. The white-haired boy gave the rock a quick look over, tilting it slightly so he could examine it from every side. After a few seconds, Lincoln handed the rock back over to Winston. "So, what do you think?" Winston asked the older boy as he received his discovery back from him.

"I think that you found a ruby," Lincoln replied.

"A RUBY?!" all four of the first graders exclaimed in unison, all of them taken aback by surprise over what Lincoln had just said.

Nodding in the affirmative, Lincoln explained, "I'm pretty sure that it's a ruby, although just to be on the safe side, we should get Lisa to take a look at it. She's good at examining things, so we can count on her to give us a more accurate judgment."

"Oh, you mean your sister Lisa," Winston replied as he nodded in understanding. With a hint of confusion in his expression, Winston continued, "Umm, she's that tall, bossy one that Lola says passes gas all the time, right?"

Giggling cutely in a manner that clearly showed that she found what Winston said to be rather funny, Lola explained, "No, no, Winston, that's Lori. Lisa is my younger sister with the brown hair and the glasses."

"Wait a minute, I thought that was your sister Lynn," Skippy remarked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Lynn is one of our older sisters," Lana corrected, "She's the one who's into a lot of sports and tries to turn pretty much everything into a sport."

"I thought that was Leni," Winston said.

"No, Leni is me and Lana's older sister who's really into fashion," Lola clarified.

"I thought that was Luna," Skippy remarked.

"No, Luna is the one that wears purple and likes playing music all the time," Lola corrected, "But I believe that we're getting off subject here." Looking at Winston's possible ruby, Lola continued, "Imagine if this really did turn out to be a ruby. That would make it the find of the century." Looking to her crush, Lola said, "What do you think, Winston?"

Nodding a few times, Winston replied, "Well that would be rather marvelous, Lola. But we should do what your older brother suggested and get that science-y sister of yours to give this an examination."

"Yeah, that's a good point," Lola advised, "Well we should get Lisa to look at it with her science stuff first, just like Lincoln said. Lisa's smart, so we can trust her."

After everyone agreed that they would take that course of action, Skippy said, "Okay then. Just so that we're all clear on this, Lisa is one of your older sisters, right?"

* * *

Later over at the Loud family residence, Lincoln, Lola, Lana, Skippy and Winston were standing around in Lisa and Lily's room, watching as the brainy Loud sister examined the supposed ruby that Winston had found. "Mmm hmm," Lisa hummed to herself as she viewed the sparkly stone through one of those magnifying glasses used by people when examining precious stones and other such valuables. After a few more seconds of examination, Lisa handed the stone back to Winston before telling him, "Well I do believe that congratulations are in order, Winston. You are now the proud owner of a ruby."

"Wow, isn't this great, Winston?" Lola said excitedly, "You have a gemstone!"

"I still can't believe that I actually have something like this," Winston remarked in a tone that was a mix of surprised and mildly unsure, "I mean, what do I even do with something like this?"

"I would hold on to it if I were you," Lincoln advised, "I have no doubt that it's valuable, so you need to keep it someplace safe."

"Lincoln's got a really good point, Winston," Lana said. Turning to face Skippy, who was looking at the crib in the room, Lana said, "What do you think, Skippy?"

After a few seconds, Skippy turned around and said, "Oh, I'm sorry but I didn't quite catch that." Turning back around, Skippy continued, "Your baby sister Lucy here distracted me. I have to admit that she's rather adorable."

"Skippy, that's Lily," Lana clarified, a bit amused by her crush mixing some of her siblings up again, "Lucy is my older sister who wears a lot of black and writes a lot of poetry."

"Hang on a minute," Winston interrupted, his tone sounding a mix of curious and confused, "I thought that was Luan."

"No, Luan is our older sister who likes telling jokes and pulling pranks," Lola corrected.

"I thought that was Lola," Skippy remarked with a confused look on his face as he turned back around. Skippy's remarked prompted Lana to begin laughing hysterically.

"I'M LOLA!" the pink-dressed Loud sister exclaimed, clearly annoyed with the idiocy of her sister's crush.

"Lola, please calm down," Winston said gently in a tone that showed he was a bit on the concerned side, "There's nothing to be gained from losing your temper."

As the first graders were talking to each other, Lincoln turned his attention to face Lisa. "…I think that we ought look into preparing some flash cards so we can help teach Winston and Skippy which one of you girls is which," Lincoln said in a dry tone to his brainy younger sister.

"Such a set of flash cards can be useful to more than just those boys," Lisa remarked, her tone clearly indicating that she agreed with her older brother.

* * *

The following afternoon saw Lincoln in the Loud family's backyard, keeping an eye on Lana and Skippy, the latter of which came over because Lana wanted to show him how she improved Lola's princess car as she figured that if she taught Skippy how she did it, then he'd be able to do the same to variations of the princess car that were targeted at boys. The white-haired boy felt that it was rather cute how Lana wanted her crush to be able to accomplish the same mechanical feats that she has been known to-

"LANA! SKIPPY! WE NEED YOUR HELP" Lola's voice called out, clearly fuming. Lincoln turned around, and Lana and Skippy stopped what they were doing to look over, to see Lola enter the backyard with Winston following her. The impeccably attired six-year-old boy seemed very troubled by something and was clearly trying to put on a brave face.

"Lola, Winston, what's going on?" Lincoln asked as he, Lana and Skippy came over, "And why does Winston look so upset?"

"The ruby that I found wasn't where I left it," Winston explained, "I distinctly remember placing it in the drawer of my nightstand in my bedroom last night before I went to bed, but when I opened my nightstand drawer this morning, the ruby was gone. This is especially terrible since I finally figured out what I wanted to do with the ruby, but since it's gone, my plan is now shot."

"The ruby's gone?" Skippy said, clearly looking shocked. Shaking his head in a manner to try to get his mind focused, Skippy said to Winston, "Don't worry, man, I'll help you find it!"

"Alright!" Lana said as she pumped a fist into the air, "Looks like we're on the case!"

* * *

Over at Winston's family's place, Lincoln and the first-graders went to Winston's room to begin the search for the missing ruby. Upon Winston opening the door and letting everyone in, Lincoln and the others were amazed to once again see the surprisingly tidy room with dark bluish paint on the walls, as well as bookshelf with a good number of books on it.

There were even those two masks, one happy and one sad, that are often associated with theater, hanging on the wall off to the left hand side (if you were standing in the doorway of Winston's bedroom and was looking into said bedroom). "Hey Winston, I've been meaning to ask," Lana began in a mildly curious tone as she pointed to the twin masks, "What's up with those masks that you have there hanging on the wall?"

"Oh, Winston says that he wants to be a therapist when he grows up," Skippy explained to the tomboyish Loud twin.

"It's pronounced 'thespian', my good man," Winston corrected.

Turning around to face Winston, Skippy asked, "Is that a fancy word for therapist?"

"No, it's a fancy word for actor," Winston replied. Walking over to the nightstand that was next to his bed, Winston pulled it open, and when everyone else walked over, they saw that the drawer only contained a few pencils, a pen, and an eraser. "There's no way that the ruby could have gotten lost in a jumble in the drawer because there isn't enough stuff in there to create a jumble," Winston remarked.

"Well don't worry, Winston," Lola said, "That's why we're all here. We're going to help you find it!" As the others also tried to raise Winston's spirits, an adult woman who looked to be Winston's mom came walking over to the open doorway. Surprisingly enough, she had Ulfric Aesir, the crush of Lincoln's older sister Lynn, with her.

Looking into her son's room, Winston's mom said, "Winston, sweetie, I got my friends Hilda and Gilda to send their son over to help with setting up some of the posts of the patio I'm wanting to build in the back- Oh!" Winston's mom stopped midsentence when she saw that her son had some guests over already. "I don't suppose your friends here would be willing to help with the patio, would they?" Winston's mom asked.

"I actually invited Skippy, Lola and two of Lola's siblings over to help me find the ruby that I found when I was helping with digging holes in the yard in preparation of building the patio," Winston explained to his mother, "It's not where I left it last night."

"You lost a ruby that you found?" Ulfric asked, "You actually found a ruby? Well, where did you keep it?"

"In the drawer of my nightstand, but it wasn't there when I next checked it," Winston explained.

"Hmm," the foreign-born teen boy hummed as he walked over to her little brother's nightstand, opened it, and checked things out a bit. "…Huh, well I'll be," Ulfric said as he pulled the drawer out of the nightstand. Showing the end of the drawer to everyone, Ulfric pointed out that there was a hole in the back of the drawer, a hole that looked like it was made by a small rodent. "I'm thinking that there might be just cause to call an exterminator," Ulfric remarked to everyone else as he stuck his finger through the hole, "It looks like a mouse stole Winston's ruby."

"A mouse stole Winston's ruby?" Lola said in an incredulous tone, "What would a mouse even want with a ruby anyway?"

"The mouse must have thought that it was a piece of food or something," Skippy remarked, "I mean, it did kind of look like a piece of fruit-flavored hard candy to me." Walking over to his friend's nightstand, Skippy looked into where the drawer was pulled out of. Pulling the nightstand itself away from the wall, Skippy revealed that not only was there a hole in the back of the nightstand, but that there was also a hole in the wall of Winston's bedroom, about at the level of the holes where the drawer of the nightstand and the nightstand itself would be.

"…Wow," Skippy remarked in a mildly surprised tone that had a hint of amusement with the situation, "You don't see something like that every day."

"Well this is just great," Winston said in an annoyed tone of complaint, "Now my family has to deal with a rodent problem."

"Relax, Winston," Lincoln said, "All Lola, Lana and I have to do is head back to our place, tell Lisa what's going on, and bring her back here with the appropriate tech needed to get the ruby back from the mice."

Ulfric wore a look on his face that showed he didn't quite understand what the white-haired boy was talking about. However, he did look like he felt that Lincoln knew what he was talking about, so he was going to put his faith in Lisa as well. Turning to Winston, the foreign-born teen boy said, "I believe that we ought to listen to what that Lisa girl says."

Nodding in agreement with Ulfric, Winston replied, "Exactly. Lola often speaks of her sister Lisa's intelligence, so if she can figure out a way to get my ruby back, then I'm all ears."

* * *

Later that day, after Lincoln and the twins came back to Winston's place, accompanied by Lynn since she heard that Ulfric was currently over at Winston's place, everyone was standing around while Lisa was working on a laptop that she had set up on Winston's bed. There was some sort of antenna plugged into one of the USB ports in Lisa's laptop. "Wow," Lisa remarked aloud as she looked at a live video feed that was playing on her laptop, "It's rather amazing what the mice have been able to do within the walls of your family's abode, Winston. It's pretty much a maze in there."

"What exactly are you working on here?" Skippy asked the brainy Loud sister.

"I put a mouse-sized mouse robot into the hole in Winston's wall," Lisa began to explain as she gestured to her computer's screen, "I'm controlling the robot via imputing commands with my laptop, and the video feed is coming from a miniature camera in the robot."

"So, this is like looking through the eyes of a mouse that's running along inside the walls?" Lana asked, then after Lisa nodded in the affirmative, Lana added, "Hey, that's actually pretty cool!"

Everyone crowded around a bit to look at the live video feed on Lisa's laptop. From the looks of it, it seemed like it was coming from a point of view where one was trying to make their way through a maze of wood, large metal nails, and pink fluffy wall insulation. "Hopefully we should be able to locate the ruby within short order," Lisa remarked, "After all, we're currently on a path that seems to have been made by the mice, so logically we AHA!" Lisa suddenly exclaimed as the live video feed showed that the ruby had been located. Upon seeing the ruby, everyone else began to cheer in victory.

"Yes, yes," Lisa said in a tone that suggested that she wanted the others to simmer down, "Now all I have to do is-" Lisa stopped short when the video feed shook a bit, as if the robot mouse whose eyes they were looking through was bumped into. Using the controls on her laptop, Lisa made the mouse turn around and see a real mouse of roughly equal size. From the looks of it, it seemed that the actual mouse wanted to fight the mouse-sized mouse robot.

"Oh dear, this doesn't look good," Lisa said, "At least I had the foresight to make my mouse robot capable of fighting back against real mice in case of any hostilities." Lisa then proceeded to input some commands, and from the video feed, everyone saw the paws of the robot mouse swipe at the real mouse. The real mouse attempted to bite at one of the robot mouse's ears, but another paw swipe made the real mouse back off. "Grrr," Lisa growled in a mildly annoyed tone, "Because of that other mouse, this is going to take quite a while."

Lynn, with a curious look of mild wondering on her face, went over to the wall in Winston's room that had the mouse hold in it. Using the outer side of her right fist, Lynn gave the wall a good few bumps every so often. During one part of the athletic Loud sister's methodical wall bumps, Lisa said, "Hey, watch it, Lynn! That bump actually shook the camera from my mouse robot! Although it also startled the actual mouse as well. Sadly not enough to make the actual mouse run away."

After Lynn got that bit of scolding from her brainy younger sister, she went over to Ulfric, got a pair of tough construction gloves from him, put them on, went back over to the wall she was giving bumps to with the side of her fist and, after she was scolded a bit again by Lisa for bumping the same spot as before, she pulled her fist back and punched the spot on the wall so hard that she broke part of the wall and exposed what was inside, startling everyone else in the room in the process.

Acting quickly, Lynn reached in with her gloved hand and grabbed the actual mouse that Lisa's robot mouse was fighting. As the live mouse squeaked in a panicked tone while in Lynn's gloved grip, she held the mouse out to everyone else. "Here you go," the athletic Loud sister said with a hint of self-amused pride in her tone, "Problem solved." Ulfric, a bit surprised by Lynn's actions just now, nonetheless went about getting a bucket that Lynn dropped the mouse into. With the mouse out of the way, Lisa went over to the hole in the wall that her older sister punched into it.

Reaching into the hole, Lisa retrieved both her robot mouse and Winston's ruby. "…I believe that you should be grateful that your family just so happens to have the supplies needed to fix the holes in your wall," Lisa said to Winston in a dry tone as she handed him his ruby, "Both the one made by the mouse and the one that my athletically inclined sister just punched into it."

Receiving his ruby from Lisa, Winston replied with equal dryness, "…Yes, and I suppose it also helps that there's enough of the same color of paint in the wall paint cans to match the rest of my room as well." Although he could not argue with the results, Winston did feel like he wanted to argue about the methods used to go about getting said results.

"So, Winston," Lincoln began as he got the impeccably dressed six-year-old boy to turn to face him, "Now that you got your ruby back, what are you going to do with it? You did say that you had a plan for it."

"Indeed, I do have a plan for the ruby, Lincoln," Winston replied to the white-haired boy. Turning around to face Lola, Winston handed her the ruby while saying, "Here you go, Lola. This is for you."

Gasping in surprise, Lola said, "You're giving it to me?" The pageant winning Loud sister then squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down repeatedly before throwing her arms around Winston's shoulders while thanking him repeatedly. The others in the room watched this display, their hearts touched by how sweet it was.

The older kids in the room were touched by the sweetness of Winston giving the gemstone he found to the girl that has a crush on him. Lincoln and Lynn were especially amused, as the girl in question was their little sister Lola. Turning to regard Winston, Lynn said, "Hey that was pretty big of you, little man."

"Well far be it from me to not be anything less than a gentleman," Winston replied.

With an amused smirk on her face, Lynn continued as she removed the gloves that she was wearing, "And hey, if you have any more problems with mice in the walls of your family's house here, just give me a holler and I'll be glad to swing by and take care of it for you."

"Umm, Lynn," Ulfric began, "With all due respect, I'm pretty sure that Winston's family would want to hire a professional exterminator."

* * *

The following day over at the Loud family's residence during breakfast, Lincoln was sitting at the table with a glass of juice while the twins, Lisa and Lynn were all eating some breakfast. "So Lola, Winston actually gave you the ruby he found," Lynn remarked, "That was actually rather thoughtful of him." This drew a nod of agreement from Lola, who had her mouth full with what she was eating.

"What do you intend to do with it, Lola?" Lisa asked.

"Keep it someplace safe," Lola replied after she swallowed what she was eating, "And I already have it hidden, so no one but me knows where it is. It's also in a keepsake box, so there's no chance that a mouse will be able to snatch the ruby while it's hidden."

"Well I'm glad to see that you're taking care of it," Lincoln said.

"Well of course I'm going to take care of it," Lola said in a matter-of-factly kind of tone, "It's the first thing that my crush ever gave me."

END, RESTORED IMAGE: A TALE RETOLD CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Author's notes:

This chapter was recycled from the original, but with a number of edits to it so that it better fit the new setting while also taking care to respect things that were revealed about the series proper. Either way, I feel that even though Lola and Lana often quarrel, I believe that Winston and Skippy, the respective crushes of Lola and Lana, would be thick as thieves. I have no idea why I believe this. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, some of you may have noticed all of the chapters that I got out on 5-15-20. The truth of the matter is that, honestly, I've lost interest in writing chapters for this story and continuing it, so I decided to get out all of the completed chapters that I had in my backlog before I ended things Here. I've very sorry to all of you who enjoyed this story, especially since I had to cancel it before Lincoln forgave everyone in his family, but I just don't feel it in me to try and keep it going, especially since I have other stories that do firmly hold my interest. Maybe, in a far off time, once those stories come to a close, I can get back to this story, un-cancel it, and bring it to a proper, complete form.

That would be nice, but it's a far time off if at all.


End file.
